Procurement Progress

18 Feb 2008 - Gary Johnson, ITER Deputy Director General, Tokamak Department

Important progress continues to be made related to the generation of Procurement Arrangements PAs in the Tokamak Department. The third Toroidal Field conductor PA was signed by the Russian Domestic Agency (DA) on 12 February, 2008. This PA, together with the ones already signed by the Japanese and European Domestic Agencies, will produce 65% of the TF conductor for the ITER project. Work is continuing and other DAs are expected to sign in the coming months.

Progress is also continuing on the preparation of the next two PAs which are for Toroidal Field Coil (TF) winding and the Vacuum Vessel (VV). In the case of the TF winding PA, the Toroidal Field Procurement Review Committee met in mid February to continue refining the technical parts of the PA, which is nearly complete. For the VV PA, the generation of the technical specifications for the main vessel and ports continue to be improved. The first detailed 3-D models of the VV sectors and ports are nearly complete and other models will be completed over the coming months. The final resolution of some of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee activities may have an impact on the VV procurement schedule (particularly the ELM coils in the VV cooling channels). This is a critical point and will be closely reviewed and assessed during the coming months.

Other important Tokamak PAs that must be issued in 2008 include Central Solenoid and Poloidal Field coil conductor, PF magnets, the CS magnet, and tokamak assembly tools. These are all on or near the Project's critical path and will be the focus of the department for most of 2008.