FUSION | INDIA’S FUSION JOURNEY
India on the ITER way
India’s participation in the ITER fusion project is expected to pave the way for another avenue of national nuclear expertise and a route to safe and clean future energy.
By Debalina Ghoshal, Non-Resident Research Fellow, The Council on International Policy Canada
INDIA’S JOURNEY TO AVAIL ITSELF of clean and potent sources of energy to meet its growing demands has led the country to focus on nuclear energy. For this, India is concentrating on both fundamental forms of reactor – fission and fusion. While fission reactors have been operating in India for decades and there is a wealth of national expertise on how to operate these reactors, fusion reactors are still emerging and are technically challenging at the moment. However, India’s role in the ITER global fusion reactor
programme could allow India to harness clean energy for its own growth and also lay the foundation for future nuclear fusion energy industry in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the project site in France in 2025 further makes the ITER project an important subject of discussion.
India’s ITER Journey India is an active participant in the global International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) – a 35-country joint milestone project and world’s first commercial-scale fusion reactor project. ITER is being developed as a major step forward to fusion-generated emissions-free electricity. Within the total share of manufacturing and construction
process, India received 9% of the ITER project work that comprises a total of Rs.10,000 crore (US$1.17bn). India has already supplied the cryostat, the world’s
largest high-vacuum pressure chamber. India was also responsible for the construction of the top lid and central disk for the cryostat which was to be assembled and welded on site in a dedicated workshop in France . The upper cylinder was to be assembled and aligned prior to
Above: Apart from developing the cryostat, India is also involved in the development of cooling water systems, vessel-in wall shielding blocks and radio frequency heating sources at ITER
32 | July 2025 |
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