Ten years ago, in the summer of 2010, construction work began on one of the largest international science projects in the world. ITER is first and foremost about science. It is about observing and understanding the physics of a burning plasma—a state of matter that exists only in the core of the stars. But in order to create burning plasmas inside a tokamak and harness a new energy source for the generations to come, a massive industrial infrastructure is required. This latest drone survey, from November 2020, lets you take in the size and complexity of the ITER installation. From the electrical switchyard that could power a city of one million to the kilometres of "busbars" that feed the magnetic system ... from the single-platform cryoplant that manages and distributes the cooling fluids to the industrial facility where giant superconducting ring coils are manufactured ... and from the oversized heat rejection system capable of dissipating a power load of 1,000 megawatts to the Holy of Holies of the machine assembly pit, ITER appears as what it is—a unique place where human intelligence and ingenuity, with the help of the most sophisticated technologies, is rising to the challenge of one of our civilization's most daunting problems. Watch the 5-minute video here. 

The mission of the new independent research institute is to shift the focus from fundamental fusion energy research to the commercialization of fusion energy and the development of domestic fusion reactor technology. Since the 1990s, fusion research in Korea has been managed by the Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI). The country joined the ITER Project in 2003 and completed the construction of its flagship superconducting tokamak, KSTAR, in 2007. Until now, the operation of KSTAR, domestic fusion R&D, and participation in ITER have been managed by the National Fusion Research Institute (NFRI), a research institute affiliated with the KBSI.   Now, as the importance of fusion energy development is increasing globally, Korea has established a specialized research institute for fusion-power-oriented R&D through the creation of the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE), which was promulgated through national law by the Korea National Assembly in May 2020. The new institute replaces the NFRI.   KFE's first president, Suk Jae Yoo, introduced the new institute in comments during a virtual event held on 27 November. "In the new Korea Institute of Fusion Energy, we will shift our focus from basic research, which we have been conducting as a part of Korea Basic Science Institute, to core technology development that is crucial for commercializing fusion energy. We will also reformulate the goals and visions of the institution and prepare for an R&D framework to develop core technologies to build K-DEMO."    Top-level priorities are the development of key technologies for nuclear fusion power production, the establishment of an innovative virtual research environment taking full advantage of the most recent technologies, and R&D on the safety and regulatory process of a fusion power plant. "For Korea in particular, which relies heavily on overseas energy sources, securing next-generation energy sources that will ensure national stability and development is a goal vital for our generation to achieve." Dr. Yoo also emphasized the importance of collaboration with other research institutes abroad and the country's participation in ITER.   See the new KFE website in Korean and English. Watch a promotional video here (click on CC for English subtitles).  

The hot and cold basins that are part of the ITER heat rejection system are equivalent in volume to half a dozen Olympic pools. When filled to capacity, the pressure exerted by the water on the bottom slab, walls and joints of the concrete structure is considerable. In mid-October an "assessment of tightness" was performed, during which the basins were "overfilled" with 27,000 m³ of water (7,000 m³ more than their operational volume). Under the tremendous pressure exerted by 27,000 tonnes of water, the basins incurred the expected deformations—in the range of 4 to 6 millimetres—before settling. However, operators needed to confirm that no cracks had occurred in the critical zones of the concrete structure such as corners and joints. And for this, there was only one option: sending a diver into the depths of the basins to see with his own eyes and report back. The operation lasted five days in late November... when even the "hot" basin was extremely cold.

The UK government is calling out to UK regions and communities for proposals for siting the future prototype fusion plant STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production). STEP will have many of the features of a fully operational power station, including infrastructure and associated research and development facilities. It is likely to be a delivery project of comparable scale and value to a major operational power station, according to the website of the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. In the press release issued by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) on 2 December, UK Business and Energy Secretary Alok Sharma highlighted the advantages that the design, construction and operation of such a facility would represent to the winning community. "Communities around the country have an opportunity to secure their place in the history books as the home of STEP, helping the UK to be the first country in the world to commercialise fusion and creating thousands of highly skilled jobs to drive the UK Green Industrial Revolution." In addition to the £222 million commitment made to the STEP program, the UK government has also promised to invest £184 million by 2025 in new fusion facilities, infrastructure and apprenticeships at the Culham science centre in Oxfordshire, home to the JET and MAST tokamaks. The head of the ITER Science and Operation Domain, Tim Luce, welcomed the news. "It is gratifying to see the government make a firm commitment to continuing the historic leadership of the UK in magnetic fusion development. STEP is a third generation in the spherical tokamak approach to fusion pioneered at the Culham Laboratory. This approach is a close relative to the conventional tokamak realized in the JET facility at Culham and the ITER facility under construction in France. It promises lower capital cost for a power plant due to the lower magnetic field and compact size, but faces various engineering and physics challenges such as large stresses in the magnet structure, high heat fluxes to the wall, and difficulties with large enough tritium breeding for growing a fusion energy economy. Some of these issues are being addressed in the present generation of spherical tokamaks at Culham and Tokamak Energy in the UK and at Princeton University in the US. First plasma in the STEP facility in 2040 appears to be a realistic goal, assuming favourable and timely results in the present generation of spherical tokamaks." Communities have until the end of March 2021 to submit their initial nominations, and the assessment will take approximately two years to complete. Read the full press release here. Read more about STEP here.

As each year at ITER draws to a close, the Director-General hosts a celebration to recognize the hard work and commitment of the staff and collaborators. Normally, these celebrations are held at the Grand Theatre in Aix-en-Provence, featuring culturally diverse performances from ITER Member countries. But of course, 2020 has not been like any other year. Perhaps fittingly, the celebration this week will be virtual, featuring the first ever ITER Awards to highlight key points of progress made by various teams under this year's pandemic conditions. ITER staff members were asked to nominate and then vote for the most deserving teams in four categories: First-of-a-Kind Component, Balance-of-Plant System, Installation and Assembly Sequence, and Best Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic. The awards will be announced during the virtual ceremony on Tuesday evening, 8 December. Stay tuned for the results in next week's Newsline.

This month, the ITER community respected time-honoured Provencal traditions by installing a crèche and a Christmas tree in the lobby of ITER Headquarters. The new mayor of Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, André Gomez, and deputy-mayor in charge of communication, Elise Placé, were by Director-General Bernard Bigot's side for the tree lighting on 1 December. (The tree was offered by the village of Saint-Paul.)

China has announced that the HL-2M tokamak produced its first plasma discharge on 4 December 2020.   HL-2M is a medium-sized copper-conductor tokamak located at the Southwestern Institute of Physics (SWIP) in Chengdu, China. It is a totally new machine, with some systems upgraded from the HL-2A tokamak that had been in operation since 2002. HL-2M is designed to have 3MA plasma current, and over 100 million degree Celsius ion temperature.   With a flexible divertor, a new set of toroidal field coils, and a shaped plasma with improved stability. HL-2M will contribute to establishing the scientific and technical basis for optimizing the tokamak approach to fusion energy and prepare important scaling information for ITER operation.   --Photo: China Atomic Energy Authority