Iran and France have reached a general agreement for Tehran to join an international nuclear fusion project, an Iranian official said. The deal, which is yet to be confirmed by France, comes a year after Iran and six world powers came to terms over Tehran’s atomic program, reported Reuters. Known as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reaction (ITER), the project aims to build a prototype fusion reactor in southern France, according to an Iranian official.

This mega project was launched ten years ago by Europe, the United States, Russia, China, India, Japan, and South Korea, according to Radio Free Europe, and it is designed to produce energy by combining rather than splitting atoms.

RT cited the spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Behrouz Kamalvandi, saying that “based on the general understanding between Iran and France the two countries are going to cooperate in setting up Iran’s first thermonuclear experimental reactor that is expected to produce 500 MW of electricity.” According to reports, this is currently envisioned to materialize between 2030 and 2040.

Previously, in May, the director of the project said  it would be delayed by more than a decade and that costs would rise by another $4.5b in addition to the $15.5 to $16.6b previously estimated.