The ITER project is an international collaboration to prove the feasibility of fusion power. The power plant is being built in the south of France and is being supplied by an international consortium. Construction of the fusion power plant is underway and equipment is being ordered and delivered. ITER is Latin for "the way."
On January 19th the U.S. ITER Project Office at Oak Ridge National Laboratory awarded a basic ordering agreement for design and fabrication of the Tokamak Cooling Water System (TCWS) - a major U.S. contribution to the ITER Project - to AREVA Federal Services LLC of Charlotte, N.C.
The TCWS is a complex piping network that is subdivided into four primary heat transfer subsystems with supporting functions performed by three additional subsystems. It removes heat that is generated by the plasma and absorbed by ITER's internal components and vacuum vessel while controlling the temperature of the device's Neutral Beam Injector. The system also will be used for baking and drying to support operations.
Specific work tasks will be authorized by individual task orders. Most of the TCWS subsystems are planned for delivery within the five-year duration of the agreement, although there is an option to extend if additional time is required.
On January 15th 2010, a contract was signed between Gyung-Su Lee, President of the National Fusion Research Institute and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the Korean section of the ITER Vacuum Vessel and Ports. Both are critical components of the ITER Tokamak which are being jointly built by the European Union and six other countries including the Republic of Korea.
HHI will participate in the construction of the Vacuum Vessel for ITER in recognition of its technological capabilities as demonstrated by its experience with KSTAR. HHI will construct and deliver two of the nine Vacuum Vessel sectors, the seventeen equatorial ports and the nine lower ports of the ITER Tokamak by early 2017.
Of the ten main procurement items to be procured "in-kind" by Korea, the Vacuum Vessel sectors along with the Toroidal Field conductor are the principal long-lead items to be delivered early in the construction of ITER.
The vacuum vessel encloses the space where high temperature plasma will be created and maintained to produce fusion reactions. As such, it is designed to withstand both extremely high and cryogenically-low temperatures while maintaining a high vacuum seal.
President Lee stated that "domestic companies which have accumulated technological competence through the experience of KSTAR are now participating in ITER. Developments in new fusion technology by industry are expected to advance national development toward becoming an international leader in fusion."
HHI will participate in the construction of the Vacuum Vessel for ITER in recognition of its technological capabilities as demonstrated by its experience with KSTAR. HHI will construct and deliver two of the nine Vacuum Vessel sectors, the seventeen equatorial ports and the nine lower ports of the ITER Tokamak by early 2017.
Of the ten main procurement items to be procured "in-kind" by Korea, the Vacuum Vessel sectors along with the Toroidal Field conductor are the principal long-lead items to be delivered early in the construction of ITER.
The vacuum vessel encloses the space where high temperature plasma will be created and maintained to produce fusion reactions. As such, it is designed to withstand both extremely high and cryogenically-low temperatures while maintaining a high vacuum seal.
President Lee stated that "domestic companies which have accumulated technological competence through the experience of KSTAR are now participating in ITER. Developments in new fusion technology by industry are expected to advance national development toward becoming an international leader in fusion."
The ITER Project is an international collaboration of scientists and engineers with the mission of designing and constructing a burning plasma experiment to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power. The goal is to produce fusion power that would be at least ten times greater than the external power delivered to heat the plasma.
The United States is working with its international partners, which include the People's Republic of China, the European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation. The device is being assembled at Cadarache in southeastern France from components designed and fabricated in the member countries.
The U.S. ITER Project Office is hosted by ORNL and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. For more information, please visit https://www.usiter.org/.
UT-Battelle manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the Department of Energy.
