Tributes have been paid to ITER Organization Director-General Dr Bernard Bigot, after his death at the age of 72 was announced by the organisation which is building the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor fusion project in southern France.

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor fusion project has achieved a major machine assembly milestone, with the first sub-section of the ITER plasma chamber being lifted out of tooling and lowered into the machine well.

Cerberus Nuclear and Assystem have been selected to deliver the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production reactor in-board shield design as part of the STEP Engineering Framework. STEP will be the UK's prototype fusion energy power plant.

As the US Administration unveiled its "bold decadal vision" to accelerate fusion energy, the Department of Energy has announced up to USD50 million of federal funding to support US scientists conducting experimental research in fusion energy science at tokamak and spherical tokamak facilities at home and overseas.

Tokamak Energy of the UK announced it has demonstrated a world-first with its privately-funded ST40 spherical tokamak, achieving a plasma temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius, the threshold required for commercial fusion energy.

France's nuclear safety regulator, the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire, has ordered the start of the assembly of the tokamak of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor fusion project to be postponed until a number of safety issues have been addressed.

Researchers at the Joint European Torus in the UK doubled previous records by producing a total of 59 megajoules of heat energy from fusion over a five second period.

Two newly announced North American initiatives aim to accelerate the deployment of fusion technologies for power generation.

A prototype system for General Fusion's Fusion Demonstration Plant has successfully demonstrated a critical element of the Canadian company's proprietary Magnetised Target Fusion technology.

Five sites - one in Scotland and four in England - have been shortlisted to host the UK's prototype fusion energy plant - the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production. The site of the demonstration plant, due to begin operating by 2040, is expected to be announced at the end of next year.

The UK government has today published a strategy setting out how it will leverage scientific, commercial and international leadership to enable the delivery of fusion energy. It has also launched a consultation seeking views on the regulatory framework for ensuring the safe and effective rollout of fusion energy.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority has opened its new nuclear Fusion Technology Facility at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. The facility will develop and test materials and components in the simulated conditions of a fusion power plant.