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  • Image of the week | The platform's quasi-final appearance

    Since preparation work began in 2007 on the stretch of land that was to host the 42-hectare ITER platform, regular photographic surveys have been organized to d [...]

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  • Cryopumps | Preparing for the cold tests

    Before being delivered to ITER, the torus and cryostat cryopumps are submitted to a  comprehensive series of factory acceptance tests. This is not sufficie [...]

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  • Fusion technologies | Closing a fusion schism

    Historically, inertial confinement and magnetic confinement approaches to fusion have been parallel, separate processes. The ITER Private Sector Fusion Workshop [...]

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  • Toroidal field coil celebration | "A good day for the world"

    A little before 2:00 a.m. on 17 April 2020 a powerful transport trailer, accompanied by dozens of technical and security vehicles, passed the gates of the I [...]

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  • Press conference | New baseline to prioritize robust start to exploitation

    At a press conference on 3 July attended by approximately 200 journalists and key ITER stakeholders, ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi answered questions [...]

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Of Interest

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ITER NEWSLINE -

Industrial milestone

First cryopump passes all tests

The serial production of ITER's powerful torus and cryostat cryopumps is progressing at Research Instruments, Germany, on behalf of the European Domestic Agency Fusion for Energy. Last week, the first production unit was cleared for shipment to ITER.

The first series production cryopump has passed all factory acceptance tests. Celebrating this major milestone are members of the ITER, Fusion for Energy, and Research Instruments project teams. (Click to view larger version...)
The first series production cryopump has passed all factory acceptance tests. Celebrating this major milestone are members of the ITER, Fusion for Energy, and Research Instruments project teams.
The first ITER cryopump passed all final factory acceptance tests at Research Instruments (RI), Germany, last week, marking a major milestone in the procurement program for these one-of-a-kind components that were developed through the close collaboration of experts at ITER, Fusion for Energy and European industry. 

"This achievement paves the way for delivery of the first cryopump to ITER by the end of the month and seven more by the end of the year," says Robert Pearce, ITER Vacuum System Project Leader.

With a volume of nearly 1,400 m³ and 8,500 m³ respectively, the ITER vacuum vessel and cryostat range among the largest vacuum systems ever built.

To create the very specific vacuum conditions that ITER requires, cryopumps—which "capture" unwanted particles by trapping them on extremely cold surfaces—are indispensable to finalizing the initial pumping done by mechanical devices. ITER will rely on six torus cryopumps to maintain ultra-high vacuum inside the ITER vacuum vessel during operation and to create low density—about one million times lower than the density of air. Two other cryopumps will provide the insulating vacuum in the cryostat that allow the superconducting magnets to remain cold.

All eight are under the procurement responsibility of the European Domestic Agency Fusion for Energy. Research and prototyping have been underway for years; since 2018 the build-to-print procurement package has been in the hands of industry after the delivery of a pre-production cryopump unit for testing and the signature of the Torus and Cryostat Cryopump Procurement Arrangement.  

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