AREVA US to build cooling water system

The US ITER Project Office has awarded a basic ordering agreement for design and fabrication of the Tokamak cooling water system (TCWS)—a major US contribution to the project—to AREVA Federal Services LLC of Charlotte, North Carolina.

The TCWS is a complex network that is subdivided into four primary heat transfer systems, chemical and volume control systems, draining and refilling systems, and a drying system. Pumps, filters, pressure vessels, heat exchangers, valves, tubing, piping, and fittings are key components. The TCWS also includes other structures and components such as supports, instrumentation and control devices, electric motors, heaters, power controllers, and associated wiring.

Specific work tasks for the basic ordering agreement will be authorized by individual task orders, which are expected to number approximately 30. 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.

"We were looking for one company that wouldn't itself do all the work, but would oversee and integrate industry activities related to the TCWS," explained US ITER Project Director Ned Sauthoff. "This provides an umbrella agreement that will allow us to send these tasks to AREVA."

"We're excited because we are actually setting up strong industrial participation. We should be able to get some of the longer-lead activities under way," he added.

The US ITER Project Office is hosted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and supported by the US Department of Energy Office of Science.