Pictures from the Fusion Energy Conference in Japan

24 Oct 2016 - Julie Marcillat

For six days last week in Kyoto, the world fusion community came together at the Fusion Energy Conference—an important rendezvous on the calendar of researchers, engineers, industry representatives, students, and policy makers.

All questions on ITER could also be answered at the ITER stand, where videos, brochures, and a virtual reality tour of the ITER construction site were on offer.

The 26th edition was hosted by the Government of Japan and organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in cooperation with the Japanese National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS).

In his opening address, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano reminded the audience of the supportive role that the IAEA has played historically as "godparent" to the ITER Project, and of continuous efforts to serve the worldwide fusion and plasma physics community through the publication of Nuclear Fusion, the organization of conferences and specialized workshops, and the coordination of research in fusion technology.

"To make fusion energy production a reality, enormous scientific and technical challenges still need to be overcome. But I have faith in the ingenuity of human beings and the ability of brilliant scientists and engineers to overcome even the most daunting technological hurdles. In the coming years, we will see increased efforts to bring fusion energy on an industrial, power-plant scale within our reach. I am confident that they will be successful."

The ITER Organization was represented by Director-General Bernard Bigot, who brought the most recent news of project progress to a large audience on the first day of the conference, and by a group of ITER scientists and engineers (see photos). All questions on ITER could also be answered at the ITER stand, where videos, brochures, and a virtual reality tour of the ITER construction site were on offer.

The next Fusion Energy Conference will be held in 2018 in India.

C'est par l'entrée sud de l'installation que seront livrés les torons des câbles de niobium-titane. Au terme des différentes opérations de bobinage les aimants terminés quitteront le bâtiment sur des plateformes autopropulsées en empruntant l'ouverture opposée. Photo : F4E

Fusion researcher and Princeton University professor Robert Goldston has been awarded the IAEA 2015 Nuclear Fusion Journal Prize for a paper presenting a new model for estimating the width of the scrape-off layer, the hot plasma exhausted from the closed magnetic surfaces in tokamaks. (During the 2016 IAEA Fusion Energy Conference in Japan, the Nuclear Fusion Journal Award was presented to the 2015 and 2016 winners.)

Le béton de « deuxième phase », qui lie le patin parasismique à sa colonne, doit être maintenu quelque temps à la température de 30° C. Des souffleries d'air chaud sont utilisées à cet effet. Photo: F4E

Deux pompes à béton permettent de progresser au rythme d'un « plot » par semaine. Une fois joints, ces plots d'environ 600 mètres-carrés formeront une dalle uniforme.

Des soustraitants en metrologie prennnent des mesures GPS en octobre 2011 pour recaler le maillage primaire d'ITER (Société GDV). Photo : F4E

Le radier de la fosse est réalisé à plus de 80% : sur 17 000 mètres-cubes de béton, on en a coulé 14 000 depuis le mois d'août.

The six-day conference attracted researchers from 40 countries and more than 1,000 visitors. Poster sessions were organized in parallel to the presentations given in the main hall.

A 400 mètres de la terrasse du Centre des Visiteurs, le premier des bâtiments de la plateforme est quasiment terminé. Dès 2012, on assemblera ici les plus gros aimants destinés à ITER. Photo : F4E