Is the world's biggest fusion experiment dead after new delay to 2035?

MattSparkes writes: ITER, the world’s largest fusion power project, has been hit by a 10-year delay, meaning plans to switch it on have now been pushed back to 2035. Such a delay could see ITER being overtaken by commercial fusion projects, leaving some to question whether it is even worth continuing with the experiment, suggesting that management should not "chase sunk costs".

The reactor, which is under construction in France, is a vast international effort involving the European Union, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the US. Work officially started in 2006, although discussions date back to 1985, and the first run of the reactor to create plasma was initially scheduled for 2020, but later pushed back to 2025. Construction costs have boomed, with early estimates having already risen by 300 per cent, to over €20 billion, in 2020.