Manufacturing milestone
Japan completes last vertical coil
6 Mar 2023
On 21 February 2023, Japan's National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) and supplier Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions celebrated the completion of the last regular toroidal field coil under Japanese procurement responsibility.
The last regular toroidal field coil from Japan has been completed at Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions.
The ceremony at Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation was attended by representatives of the Japanese government, QST, and the ITER Organization.
For Toshiba, it is the fourth toroidal field coil for ITER that the company has produced; for QST, this is the eighth it has procured overall. The Japanese Domestic Agency has worked with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation for the supply 8 regular toroidal field coils (assembly of winding packs and coil structures) plus another 10 coil structures for the European Domestic Agency (responsible for procuring 10 coils). A ninth coil will be produced in Japan as a spare.
Celebrating a ten-year industrial effort are representatives of the Japanese government, QST, Toshiba, and the ITER Organization (in-person and virtual).
The D-shaped toroidal field coils, which completely enclose the vacuum vessel by matching its shape on both the inboard and outboard sides, are relied on for plasma confinement. In the huge ITER device, a set of 18 coils will produce a total magnetic energy of 41 gigajoules, generating an intense field all around the plasma (11.8 tesla at its maximum) to keep it confined in the centre of the vessel away from the walls.
See press releases in Japanese from QST and Toshiba ESS.