---
title: "ITER relies on Microsoft AI to accelerate nuclear fusion — Marsanne Studio AI watch"
description: "ITER is deploying Microsoft's AI tools (Copilot, Azure OpenAI) for simulation, document management and IT support."
url: "https://marsanne.studio/en/ai-watch/iter-relies-on-microsoft-ai-to-accelerate-nuclear-775192/"
lang: "en"
---

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Case study · 17 September 2026

# ITER relies on Microsoft AI to accelerate nuclear fusion

Original title, in French: “ITER mise sur l'IA de Microsoft pour accélérer la fusion nucléaire”

**Publication**

Journal du Net (France)

**Author**

[Xavier Biseul](https://www.journaldunet.com/account/xavier-biseul-24689)

**Published on**

17 September 2026 · read in the page structured data

## Summary

The international ITER project, which is building an experimental nuclear fusion reactor in Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, entered into a partnership with Microsoft in March 2025 to deploy its AI solutions, according to Jean-Daniel Delaplagne, head of the IT Project Tools Section. A chatbot named Lucy, based on Azure OpenAI, searches a document base of more than 1.5 million documents. 400 Microsoft 365 Copilot licences have been allocated, or around 15% of users, covering procurement, HR, logistics and IT support, which handles 50,000 requests a year. Around 300 agents have also been created in-house by experienced users via Copilot Studio. By default, Copilot is preferred over custom development, and technological sovereignty is considered a lesser concern given ITER's status as an international organisation.

Summary based on the full text of the article.

[Read the article on Journal du Net →](https://www.journaldunet.com/intelligence-artificielle/1554581-iter-mise-sur-l-ia-de-microsoft-pour-accelerer-la-fusion-nucleaire/)

## Figures cited

-   50,000 requests
    
    IT support requests per year
    
    ITER, IT department
    
    > « Nous recevons environ 50 000 demandes d’assistance IT par an, avance Jean-Daniel Delaplagne. »
    
-   1.5 million documents
    
    number of documents accumulated by ITER
    
    ITER, 30 years of knowledge
    
    > « Nous avons accumulé plus de 30 ans de connaissances, soit plus de 1,5 million de documents, aussi bien des textes que des images »
    
-   400 licences
    
    Microsoft 365 Copilot licences allocated
    
    ITER, around 15% of users
    
    > « En tout, 400 licences Microsoft 365 Copilot ont été attribuées, représentant environ 15% des utilisateurs, des ingénieurs, des scientifiques mais aussi des collaborateurs des fonctions corporate ou dédiées à la régulation. »
    
-   300 agents
    
    AI agents created by experienced users
    
    ITER
    
    > « environ 300 agents ont été créés par des utilisateurs avertis ("power users") via Agent Builder de Microsoft 365 Copilot ou Copilot Studio »
    
-   2,000 employees
    
    ITER headcount
    
    ITER, 34 nations
    
    > « quelque 2 000 employés, représentant 34 nations »
    

## Classification

**Country**

France

**Company size**

Large companies

**Industries**

Industry and manufacturing · Energy, utilities, environment

**Companies**

GitHub (supplier), Microsoft (supplier), ITER (deploys AI)

**Keywords**

nuclear fusion, microsoft copilot, azure openai, internal chatbot, document management, it support

Entry written by Marsanne Studio from the cited article, with the help of an AI model (claude-sonnet-5). The rights to the article and its illustrations belong to Journal du Net and its author. Entry translated from French by Claude Sonnet 5.5.