Absolutely, as is the case in any huge project, it takes long enough to build that at some point you have to freeze the design and technology keeps progressing.

Absolutely, as is the case in any huge project, it takes long enough to build that at some point you have to freeze the design and technology keeps progressing. It's hard to predict which pieces of technology will mature on what timeline, and at some point you just have to start. That ITER doesn't use superconducting magnets to me means that it will definitely be "obsolete" in the sense of using the most modern technologies, but it's still going to do the job it was designed for.