New Fusion reactor aims to rival ITER

And unlike ITER, the ultimate aim of IGNITOR is to demonstrate the feasibility of plasma ignition — a state in which there is enough fusion power to maintain the reaction without the need for external heat. ITER, on the other hand, aims to maintain fusion by generating up to 10 times more power than it consumes.

The idea behind IGNITOR was first put forward in the 1970s by Italian plasma physicist Bruno Coppi of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. Supported by funding of about €20 million (US$27 million) from the Italian government, Coppi and a small group of collaborators in the United States and Italy have developed the IGNITOR reactor on paper and built the first prototype parts.

Nature