Case Study: ITER achieves clash-free, collaborative engineering for its fusion power plant with Dassault Systèmes (CATIA, ENOVIA, DELMIA)

Without ENOVIA VPLM, we would need a much larger Design Office team

ITER, the world’s largest fusion energy research project, needed to coordinate a globally distributed effort to design a €10 billion demonstration fusion power plant made up of roughly 10 million parts, all while keeping the central Design Office small. To meet the challenge of real‑time collaboration, concurrent engineering and strict quality requirements, ITER selected Dassault Systemes products CATIA, ENOVIA and DELMIA to structure design methodology and ensure long‑term data interoperability across international Domestic Agencies.

Dassault Systemes delivered an integrated PLM solution: CATIA for 3D digital mock‑ups and design skeletons, ENOVIA VPLM as a single‑source database to enable concurrent design and data reuse, and DELMIA for process simulation and assembly validation. The solution kept the Design Office to about 90 designers, produced dramatic productivity gains (example: one component went from six weeks to one week to just days), ensured clash‑free interfaces, and enabled virtual validation that could save hundreds of millions of euros—demonstrating clear measurable impact from Dassault Systemes’ implementation.

ITER

Eric Martin

Design Office Head