Preparing the next JT-60SA campaign to support ITER

2026-02-25 - Workers and welders have to manage coactivity inside the ITER vacuum vessel where space is restricted.

2026-02-21 - Vacuum vessel sector #9 is loaded on 21 February in Monfalcone, Italy. The 400-tonne sector—the third of five expected from Europe—will arrive at ITER in March.

2026-02-20 - Radiographic testing on vacuum vessel sector #1 is underway as the sector is suspended vertically in tooling. This last set of tests, carried out against the backdrop of a lead "curtain" (in yellow) will confirm the compliance of bevel joint repair and the uniformity of the welding.

2026-02-19 - A technician watches closely as a 16-tonne plant component crosses overhead on its way to the Tokamak Building.

2026-02-19 - A smaller crane (capacity 50 tonnes) is used to move a plant component into the Tokamak Building through a temporary opening. This "cold valve box" will regulate the cryogenic fluids destined for different parts of the ITER thermal shield.

2026-02-16 - Nine gravity supports like this one, supplied by Korea, will support the vacuum vessel sectors from below. Their dual-hinged design allows for a slight expansion of the vacuum vessel in the radial direction.

2026-02-12 - These members of the CNPE team are photographed during the transfer of vacuum vessel sector #1 into tooling. The CNPE consortium (China Nuclear Power Engineering; China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Company; Southwestern Institute of Physics; ASIPP; and Framatome) is responsible for sector module sub-assembly and tokamak machine assembly.

2026-02-12 - Vacuum vessel sector #1 has landed in sub-assembly tool #2 (SSAT2). Its weight is supported by a radial beam (above) and a pillar under its lower port stub extension (below).

2026-02-12 - Vacuum vessel sector #1 is lowered into tooling by ITER's "pair of safe hands"—the 1,500-tonne bridge cranes.

2026-02-12 - The 400-tonne "bare" sector is transported over the transversal beam of the tall tool. Once it has been docked, work will begin to make it a "sector module."

2026-02-12 - Final adjustments are underway for the imminent transfer of vacuum vessel sector #1 to assembly tooling.

2026-02-11 - There is a dense “forest” of attachments on the inside of the ITER vacuum vessel. Tiny "bosses" for diagnostics are seen here amid the much larger support pads (yellow) for the blanket shield blocks.

2026-02-11 - The next sector planned for arrival at ITER, sector #9, has been wrapped for transport in the Westinghouse Mangiarotti factory in Italy. It will be inserted into protective housing before it is transported to the Monfalcone quay for loading.

2026-02-11 - One by one, the bosses for magnetic sensors are welded to the vacuum vessel’s inner surface. There are approximately 2,000 such supports per sector.