Last manifolds completed in China

Inside of a large guard pipe, six process lines for gas going toward the plasma surround a central evacuation pipe that transports exhaust gases back to the tritium plant. In the interspace is an inert gas (nitrogen) flowing toward tritium plant, where any leaks from the process pipes can be detected.

The 200-metre-long manifold distribution system provides different gas species—including helium, deuterium, tritium, nitrogen, argon and neon—to the pellet injection, gas fuelling, neutral beam and disruption mitigation systems of the ITER machine. Design and manufacturing activities have been underway in China since the 2012 signature of the Gas Injection Procurement Arrangement. The last batch of components will ship soon from Huizhou, Guangdong Province.

A ceremony organized on 10 April 2021 by manufacturer CNI23 (China Nuclear Industry Construction 23 Co., Ltd.), was attended by representatives of ITER China, the Institute of Plasma Physics (Chinese Academy of Sciences), and the Southwestern Institute of Physics. The head of the Engineering Domain at ITER, Alain Bécoulet, sent a video message.

See the news on the ITER China website in English and Chinese.

*As a nuclear facility, ITER has categorized the components that keep the facility in a safe state and prevent or mitigate nuclear risks to humans and the environment as Protection-Important Components (PIC).