Funding for research in nuclear fusion was fully restored by Congress in the omnibus spending bill, reversing what supporters feared might be declining interest in the research. An executive of General Atomics said during his March 6 testimony in Congress that he sensed a new attitude toward fusion science.
The bill authorizes $122 million to meet the U.S. 2018 commitment for construction on the $22-billion International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project being built by the U.S. and six other international partners in France. San Diego-based General Atomics is building the ITER Central Solenoid, the five-story, 1,000-ton magnet at the center of the facility.