Policy makers and scientists attend the recent installation ceremony of LIPAc in Rokkasho, Japan. LIPAc is the prototype accelerator of the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) that will produce a neutron flux similar to that expected in a fusion reactor.
With the arrival of major accelerator components from Europe, a new commissioning phase has begun for the prototype accelerator LIPAc, part of the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) that is currently in its engineering validation and design phase in Rokkasho, Japan.
IFMIF is an accelerator-based neutron source that will use deuterium-lithium nuclear reactions to produce a large neutron flux similar to that expected at the first wall of a fusion reactor.
By testing materials under conditions similar to those expected in a future fusion power plant, IFMIF will help qualify the advanced materials that will be used for plasma-facing surfaces.
IFMIF's accelerator, LIPAc (the Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator) is designed to run a deuteron beam of 125 mA at 9 MeV in a continuous wave, reaching 1.1 MW beam power.
The radiofrequency quadrupole and injector in position in Rokkasho, Japan.
At a recent ceremony in Rokkasho, participants celebrated the commissioning of the accelerator's injector as well as the first phase of installation for the radiofrequency quadrupole and power generator. These milestones represent a step forward in design validation.
In the next steps, the injector will undergo further upgrades and preparation activities for beam commissioning will continue.
The main contributors to this important test facility are CEA (France), CIEMAT (Spain), INFN (Italy) and SCK-CEN (Belgium).
IFMIF is one of three fusion energy research projects underway within the framework of the Broader Approach Agreement signed in 2007 between Europe and Japan.
More on the IFMIF project at IFMIF.org.