Deep into the ITER servers lies a huge data bank, constantly updated, that forms the 3D blueprint of the whole installation. Digging into this "detailed model", one can create ultra-precise renditions of any part of the machine, systems or buildings — down to the smallest pipe, nut and bolt. Not everybody, however, needs such a high level of detail. A designer working on, say, in-wall shielding or assembly tooling, needs to have a clear picture of the environment his components will fit in — but not necessarily with the resolution the "detailed model" can provide.What he needs is 3D data that is sufficiently detailed but light enough to be handled by his workstation. What he needs is something simplified. And Lauris Honoré, a young designer who's been with ITER for six years already, is here to provide it.Simplified models have a value that reaches well beyond the technical needs of ITER. They are terrific pedagogical and communication tools, revealing what the installation is really like, in all its beauty and complexity. Lauris has developed a talent for these spectacular, colourful renditions. "I add texture, colours, brilliance, put a little man here and there to give a sense of scale... the drawing must be both technically impeccable and visually pleasing." The Tokamak Complex rendition that we publish today (a much reduced version of the original) is a perfect illustration of this approach: here's the heart of the installation, densely packed with systems and devices — a fabulous machine and encased in concrete like a jewel in its box.

The ITER Business Forum, organized by Agence ITER France in Europe since 2007 to highlight the business opportunities around ITER and bring companies together to form partnerships, travelled to its first Asian venue this year from 1 to 4 July.   IBF Korea/14 aimed to provide industries with fresh information on the status of ITER, its first industrial achievements and forthcoming calls for tenders. There was a special focus on the procurement status of the Domestic Agencies and their main suppliers (manufacturing, potential partnerships, subcontracting or local support). There were high expectations because an ITER business event of such scale and ambition had never been attempted before in Asia.   And the bet was won! Nearly 220 participants from 120 different companies attended the event—43 percent from Europe, 33 percent from Korea, but also 9 percent from China, 7 percent from Japan and 3 percent from India. Seven thematic sessions allowed Asian and European suppliers that are already on-board the ITER Project to present their experience and achievements to date. And specific attention was brought to ITER work packages that will be procured in Asia, such as ITER's power supplies.   Joel Hourtoule, head of the Electrical Power Distribution Section, gave an extensive presentation of the present status of design and manufacturing of the ITER power supply systems and cable engineering, as well as the ITER Organization strategy for on-site installation and assembly. Chinese and Korean suppliers followed with presentations of their design and manufacturing activities. Let's ask two of them, Dawonsys (Korea) and Rongxin Power Engineering (China), to give us their feedback.   Technical tours (here with Joël Hourtoule, ITER head of the Electrical Power Distribution Section),enabled participants to take in the true international dimension of the ITER project For Kwang Cheol Hwang, Dawonsys Project Manager, "It was a good opportunity to share information and discuss possible collaboration with European companies for assembly and installation on site after delivery. And it was also a good experience to introduce our company to the participants of IBF Korea."Jinru Lin, Rongxin General Manager, gave her personal feeling after the event: "This was my first participation in IBF and I feel everything was perfect. It was great not only to have this opportunity to present the achievements of RXPE for the ITER Project but also obtain abundant information from the sessions and engage in one-to-one meetings that will definitely facilitate RXPE's business. Furthermore, the technical tour was also very impressive."  Over 150 one-to-one meetings had been scheduled in advance by participants; as many informal appointments were also held over the course of the forum that allowed companies to establish or reinforce contacts in view of forming partnerships for ITER and beyond. There was a clear opportunity to establish contacts between European and Asian companies. The visits to the superconducting tokamak KSTAR and to the Dawonsys industrial site offered participants further opportunity to network informally.

Since the start of the ITER Project, 99 Procurement Arrangements have been signed—the first back in November 2007 and the most recent in February 2014.   Procurement Arrangements are the documents concluded between the ITER Organization and the seven ITER Domestic Agencies authorizing work for the design, manufacturing and installation, when applicable, of components and systems, or the design and construction of buildings. In essence, Procurement Arrangements are the "work packages" on the road to realizing ITER.   Through the main document and several annexes, each Procurement Arrangement details all of the necessary technical and management specifications. The management requirements are defined in several Applicable Documents that are common to all Procurement Arrangements and describe the main ITER Organization processes governing execution such as quality assurance, safety, licensing, scheduling, change management, risk management, data management, design integration, environment and health.   Since the early days of the ITER Organization these documents have evolved. New procedures, plans, policies and templates have been produced and updated over time as part of the ITER Organization Management & Quality Program (MQP) aimed at harmonizing and streamlining the Procurement Arrangement process.   Together, the ITER Organization and the Domestic Agencies are seeking to align all signed Procurement Arrangements with the current Applicable Documents. This is particularly important for the first Procurement Arrangements signed in 2007 or 2008 when no procedures, plans and templates were yet in place with the exception of early quality assurance documents.   To this end a global action was launched in the summer of 2013 to arrive at Procurement Arrangement Amendments that update the Applicable Documents relative to each work package.   Seven global Procurement Arrangement Amendments—one per Domestic Agency—cover all signed Procurement Arrangements. At last week's Fourteenth ITER Council, three Amendments were signed with China, Japan and Korea. A fourth Amenment had been signed on 27 May with Russia; together these four Amendments cover a total of 43 Procurement Arrangements.   The next step is the closure of this global action with the signature of the remaining three Procurement Arrangement Amendments with Europe, India and the US.

​There is a mantra in the fund-raising world: big donors like to support big ideas. And ideas do not come much larger than at CERN, Europe's particle-physics laboratory near Geneva in Switzerland. Now the organization — which uses its particle smasher to probe the fundamental structure of the Universe — has registered a charitable foundation to raise funds for its educational, technology-transfer and arts activities. CERN is not the only big institution to go after donations to fund projects that fall outside the core research remit. The trend is on the rise among large European research organizations. The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, is shifting its fund-raising focus from industry sponsorship to private donations. And ITER, the international nuclear-fusion experiment being built in Cadarache, France, is devising a way to deal with the offers of donations that it already receives. What nobody yet knows is the fruit these efforts will bear — whether individuals really want to donate heftily to scientific charities that are not focused on medical solutions. For CERN, there is no better time to form a charitable foundation, says Matteo Castoldi, head of its development office. CERN's Large Hadron Collider, and the discovery of the Higgs boson, has "captured the public imagination" as much as the Apollo missions did in the 1960s, he says. The organization is already taking advantage of this, "but there is much more we could do, and that's where the foundation comes in".(...) CERN director-general Rolf-Dieter Heuer stresses that such funding will not replace the institute's core budget, paid for by member states. Instead, the proceeds are aimed at activities that this funding cannot stretch to: school projects, the development of medical spin-offs such as proton therapy (the use of proton beams to kill cancer cells), and meeting the huge demand for general-interest and science-related visits. But if a donor has an explicit desire for their gift to go towards research, CERN would consider this, adds Heuer.​ Read the full article on the Nature website.

A new video released this month by the European Domestic Agency takes us to the heart of the toroidal field coil manufacturing process. At the ASG Superconductor facility in La Spezia, Italy, a prototype double pancake—the building block of the seven-layer toroidal field coils—has now been through all of the stages of manufacturing, from winding to laser welding. The camera guides us all along the process, from station to station, with close up shots of the technologies involved.   You can view the video here or visit the European Domestic Agency website for more information.

​Two additional Complementary Diagnostic Procurement Arrangements were concluded in Russia on 10 July for the delivery of diagnostic systems to ITER. Russian Domestic Agency head Anatoly Krasilnikov signed the documents in the presence of ITER Diagnostics Division head Michael Walsh, who told the Russian staff members and supplier representatives present that "without diagnostics we won't see anything in ITER. Diagnostics are the machine's eyes and ears."  In the scope of its commitments to ITER, Russia will manufacture 9 out of the 45 planned diagnostic systems. The latest signatures covered Edge Charge Exchange Recombination Spectroscopy and the H-Alpha diagnostic—both highly sophisticated technical devices designed for the measurement of various plasma parameters.  --Alex Petrov, ITER Russia