Brussels, 24/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - The governments of countries involved in the future international thermonuclear experimental fusion reactor, ITER, in Cadarache, agreed on Thursday 20 November to rationalise management of the project in order to avoid a surge in costs. The representatives of the Commission (EURATOM) took part at a meeting of the ITER Council during two days in Cadarache with representatives from the six other members participating in the project: China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States. “One primordial recommendation is to improve the management system by closer integration of the international organisation and domestic agencies, which should facilitate the achievement of the project as a whole and contribute to stabilising cost predictions”, the European Commission said after the meeting. Originally, ITER was to cost €10 billion: €5 billion for construction and €5 billion for operation. However, several dozen changes in the conception of the experimental reactor are expected to bring about a rise in costs, estimated by the review Nature last summer at a rise of around 30%. This rise in costs, which has not yet been disclosed, is due to several factors: the development of technology since the project was presented in 2000, the strong rise in the cost of raw material and above all for the copper used in the gigantic magnets for confining plasma, as well as the rise in prices charged by equipment providers. It should be noted that the date of production of the first plasma, foreseen for 2016, has also been deferred to 2018. (B.C./transl.jl)