Novatron Fusion Group Strengthens Ties with ITER During Strategic Visit to France
Novatron Fusion Group has taken another significant step toward accelerating the commercial viability of fusion energy with a high-profile visit to the ITER Organization’s facilities in Cadarache, southern France.
Co-founder and Chairman Erik Odén, Chief Commercial Officer Linda Nyberg, and senior physicist Katarina Bendtz, PhD, represented the company in a series of productive meetings and workshops aimed at deepening collaboration between Novatron Fusion Group and the world’s largest fusion research project.
Hosted by ITER Director General Pietro Barabaschi, alongside Head of Communications Laban Coblentz and Alberto Laorete, the Novatron Fusion Group team engaged in strategic discussions centered on the future of fusion and the complementary roles public and private efforts can play in advancing this critical field. Dr. Bendtz also led a well-received workshop on the Novatron Fusion Group solution and the historical development of mirror machines—an area in which the company is pioneering a novel and potentially transformative approach.
Founded with the goal of developing a more stable and cost-effective alternative to traditional tokamak-based fusion, Novatron Fusion Group’s mirror machine design has garnered growing international interest. Unlike tokamaks, which dominate the global fusion landscape and are central to ITER’s experimental platform, mirror machines employ magnetic fields that trap plasma in a linear geometry, bouncing it back and forth in a controlled and stable manner. Novatron Fusion Group’s unique axisymmetric configuration is regarded as the first of its kind with the potential for continuous operation and high plasma pressure at lower magnetic field strengths—an attractive combination for future commercial fusion energy production.
“It was a privilege to visit ITER and present our progress and long-term vision for fusion,” said Erik Odén. “The openness of the ITER leadership to exploring synergies with private initiatives like ours speaks volumes about the shifting dynamics in the fusion research ecosystem.”
ITER’s recent engagement with private fusion ventures reflects a broader strategic shift. A landmark workshop held in 2024 brought together more than 350 delegates, including over 30 private sector fusion companies, to discuss how ITER can better support innovation beyond its core tokamak mission. Novatron Fusion Group was among the invited companies, with Erik Odén and Project Manager Josefin Snöbohm participating in panel discussions and brainstorming sessions on fostering joint public-private momentum in fusion development.
This growing engagement is a response to the ITER Council’s recent call for more structured collaboration with private actors. While ITER’s primary mission remains the successful operation of the world’s most complex tokamak reactor, the organization is increasingly positioning itself as a convergence point for fusion R&D across sectors. Public programs provide scale, infrastructure, and continuity; private companies bring speed, risk-taking, and often unconventional thinking.
“The future of fusion energy will not be shaped by one technology or one sector alone,” said Dr. Bendtz. “It’s about building bridges between different approaches, sharing knowledge, and learning from each other’s experiments. That’s the spirit we brought to ITER, and that’s the spirit we saw reflected in their response.”
With construction at ITER progressing toward its planned first plasma in the early 2030s, collaborations with companies like Novatron Fusion Group offer a pathway to mutual learning and accelerated breakthroughs. Novatron Fusion Group’s own test facility, the N1, located at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, is already operational and embodies the company's vision for a stable, efficient, and commercially viable mirror machine.
As discussions with ITER’s leadership continue, Novatron Fusion Group remains committed to pushing the boundaries of fusion science—through bold design, international collaboration, and a belief that fusion energy must be accessible, sustainable, and global.
“We thank Pietro Barabaschi and his team for their hospitality and forward-looking dialogue,” said Linda Nyberg. “We look forward to future exchanges that bring the fusion community—public and private—closer to a shared energy future.”
Earlier this year Novatron Fusion Group joined the 13th ITER International School in Nagoya, Japan, with physicist Benjamin Verbeek representing the firm. The Swedish company was the only commercial entity among 200 researchers from 21 countries. His presentation of Novatron Fusion Group’s mirror machine concept was met with enthusiasm and curiosity, as it provided a fresh counterpoint to the tokamak-centric discourse.
“At a conference where the challenges of tokamak instabilities were a central theme, discussing a stable mirror concept felt both bold and timely,” Verbeek noted. “There’s a real appetite now to explore diverse fusion pathways, and our transparent, data-driven approach resonated with many senior researchers.”
