ITER, is an international collaboration of schientsts and engineers from China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Russia and United States, working towards making fusion a possible solution for our energy situation.

Responding to the loss in production during the war in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and rest of the OPEC increased their oil production, but all of that was taken up by Asian giants like China etc. End result is the inevitable increase of oil prices in United States and rest of the world. The USA in particular, has been enjoying a very low oil price for a long time, and roads and big cars have become synonymous to Americanism. However, the changing world order, war in Iraq and possible terrorist attacks and retaliatory pre-emptive actions as promised by George Bush, and emerging third world nations like China and India, with their rapidly increasing high standard of life, the plot is thickening for a show down. Sooner or later, as living standards increase in China, India and such countries with huge population, the oil demand is going to rise much faster than it used to in the last decade, and this would sooner than later prove existing resources inadequate. Fusion could be the answer.

European Union has realised that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks and have put forward itself as a possible location for first experimental fusion reactor. Fusion has been coming up in the media now and then for last fourty or so years as the magic technology, where humans can control the star power, but the world is still waiting for the magic that will change their lives for ever. Good on EU for their initiative!