Dear fusion colleagues,

As many of you will have heard by now, ITER will be hosting a first-ever workshop to engage with private sector fusion initiatives at the end of May, at the ITER site in Cadarache, France. Below and enclosed you will find the Save-the-Date notice. You can find more details about the workshop format and focus using the QR code or going directly to the event website at:https://indico.iter.org/event/270/. You can register directly on the website. Formal invitation letters will follow soon. Some of you may receive this Save-the-Date from multiple sources, as we are collaborating with the Fusion Industry Association, the Fusion Energy Forum Japan, and other groups to make this event as successful for all as possible.

This event launches an unprecedented initiative at ITER to develop an efficient means for private sector companies to learn from the practical body of knowledge and lessons learned in ITER so far. ITER expects to learn a great deal from the private sector as well.

For some of us, this is a long-sought goal. It reflects a decision by the ITER Council last November that ITER should engage more broadly with private sector fusion initiatives. The most ambitious characterization of the goal is a global fusion R&D innovation program.

All are welcome. Priority will be given to those of you in private sector companies who are at some stage of building a fusion device. We hope to have many of these companies present at the workshop, to help us shape both what information is most valuable to you, and how best to share it. We also welcome private sector supply chain companies.

The best persons to participate are those with a technical focus, as this will be the primary goal of the workshop – to learn the type of information ITER has that would be valuable to share.