"We cannot 'eliminate our way' to net zero. We have to innovate, not eliminate our way to carbon neutrality." With this observation, United States Senator Joe Manchin set the stage for a candid, thoughtful conversation at the end of his extended tour of the ITER worksite on Friday 25 March. Around the table were US scientists and engineers working at ITER, as well as Assistant Secretary of Energy Ali Nouri and other US officials. Senator Manchin—a pivotal figure in US energy policy as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources—led a wide-ranging discussion on energy markets, energy security, and what he referred to as the current "weaponization of energy, energy resources, and weaponization of access to the minerals used in energy production." Above all, the dialogue zeroed in on the role of fusion and ITER. "Today I saw the possibility of world peace. Because I don't think, in the annals of history, we've ever had a war that was not in some way about energy. What you are all doing here is laying the ground for world peace." Senator Manchin's visit to France, together with US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and other senior US officials, was initiated as part of ongoing US-European exchanges on energy collaboration. At the suggestion of his committee staff, he decided to take the opportunity to learn more about the ITER Project. United States Senator Joe Manchin, Gayle Manchin, Assistant Secretary of Energy Ali Nouri, and other US officials tour the Assembly Hall with ITER Chief Scientist Tim Luce, Director of the US ITER Project Office Kathy McCarthy, and ITER representatives. Tim Luce, Head of the ITER Science & Operations Domain, led the senator and other officials on the worksite tour. Luce found the senator to be a remarkably quick study. "Senator Manchin immediately grasped the advantages of fusion, as well as the scientific and technical challenges we are overcoming. He also understood the value of working together on fusion challenges." Well known for his fiscal conservatism, Manchin emphasized this return on investment in his meeting with US staff. "What you are experiencing here as US citizens, associating with all these brilliant minds from around the world, must be an unforgettable experience. For a 9% investment we are getting a 100% return .... You are showing that fusion can be done to scale. And what you are building is the future." Before becoming a United States senator in 2010, Manchin served as Governor of the State of West Virginia. He noted that West Virginia still relies on coal for 93% of its electricity, the highest rate of any US state. Despite considerable efforts to reduce emissions from these plants, Manchin said the current situation is untenable. West Virginia, he said, would be a prime candidate for innovative clean energy, including fusion. The promise of fusion, in Manchin's view, should be presented in simple terms. "The Sun is 93 million miles away, yet if you spend an hour outside you can still get a sunburn. Imagine what we could do with that energy if we could make it portable and place it wherever we need it. It's unbelievable." 

"Moonshot." "Bold vision." "Game-changing innovation." "The race is on." Such was the vocabulary, and the mood, of the White House Fusion Summit hosted by the US Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Department of Energy (DOE) on Thursday 17 March. The coalescence of leaders from US industry, government, and academia was noteworthy for its diversity of voices and commonality of vision: the acceleration of efforts to bring fusion energy to commercial readiness. The roster was full of significant names, starting with Alondra Nelson, Head of OSTP and Deputy Assistant to President Biden; Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm; and Gina McCarthy, National Climate Advisor. National laboratories were well represented, as were private sector fusion initiatives such as Helion Energy, Commonwealth Fusion, Zap Energy, TAE Technologies, and the Fusion Industry Association. Panelists highlighted recent private and public sector fusion energy breakthroughs. Breakout sessions reviewed the significant technological, regulatory, and public engagement challenges that lie ahead. ITER was a frequent topic. Discussions highlighted the relevance of ITER experience and innovation in component design and manufacturing, data and modelling software, logistics and supply chain development, as well as the value of access to the global fusion scientific brain trust. Several speakers noted that a vibrant US domestic fusion R&D program would enable taking greater advantage of ITER research—as with any ITER Member—but that the US in particular would benefit due to the preponderance of US-based private fusion companies and investment. Integral to any moonshot is both the thrilling vision and the sobering reality. As Secretary Granholm pointed out, "There's a reason why fusion is hard.... Even as we are making amazing progress, we have to be careful about overpromising, and we have to be realistic." The race is on. Watch the full summit here.

It's a long way from Hazira, on the northwestern coast of India, to the ITER construction site in southern France. And it's also a long way from the first segment of the cryostat delivered in December 2015 to the completion of the massive component in mid-March 2022. On Thursday last week, against the backdrop of the finalized top lid now wrapped in plastic and almost ready to go into storage, the ITER community celebrated this unique industrial and technological achievement. Gathered in the Cryostat Workshop on site or present virtually through a video connection with India, the designers, manufacturers, machining experts, metrology specialists and welders involved in the realization of the ITER cryostat bore testimony to the magnitude and complexity of the international venture. Designed by ITER, manufactured by Larsen & Toubro in India under a contract from ITER India, assembled and welded by the German company MAN Energy Solutions in a dedicated facility built by India on the ITER site ... the fabrication of the 3,800-tonne cryostat was, in the view of head of the ITER Construction Domain Youngeek Jung, "a long march" that began in 2012 when the ITER Organization and ITER India signed the Procurement Arrangement containing all technical specifications. THEY SAID... Youngeek Jung, Head of the ITER Construction Domain — "Today we are celebrating an important milestone in the ITER Project: the completion of the ITER cryostat. The last welds have now been performed. The top lid you see towering behind me—all wrapped up—is now prepared and waiting for its turn. When it next appears, it will be the final closing piece of the largest fusion machine humans have ever dared to build." Ravi Bhushan Grover, India Atomic Energy Commission — "Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has demonstrated once again its competence in managing large and complex projects. This realization is a continuous reminder of the work and contribution of India to the ITER Project." Ujjwal Baruah, Head of the Indian Domestic Agency — "With today's delivery, our journey of over 10 years has crossed another gateway: all cryostat parts are now delivered and we are preparing for final assembly in the Tokamak pit. [...] We achieved the highest level of safety during manufacturing with, remarkably, zero incidents." Anil Parab (Senior Vice President & IC Head - L&T Heavy Engineering) — "Today is indeed a memorable day for the ITER Project and the global energy industry. It is a moment of pride for India and for L&T in particular. [...] L&T has always been proud to be associated with this global collaborative research project to build a greener planet. L&T maintained impeccable quality standards throughout and delivered ahead of project schedule despite unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic challenges." The ITER cryostat is a 16,000-cubic-metre vacuum chamber that completely encloses the ITER machine and acts as a thermos, insulating the ultra-cold superconducting magnets from the outside environment. The four sections of the cryostat—the base, lower cylinder, upper cylinder and top lid—were successively assembled and welded from 54 independent segments, each weighing an average of 50 tonnes. The base and lower cylinder have already been lowered into place inside the Tokamak assembly pit; the upper cylinder, carefully cocooned for protection, was moved outside the Cryostat Workshop two years ago. The 665-tonne top lid will be moved into storage in October. One of the biggest challenges in creating this "world wonder," in the words of Norbert Anger, head of site for MAN Energy Solutions, was to ensure the quality of the approximately 50 kilometres of weld lines. During the carefully controlled welding process (partly automatized, partly manual), 17 tonnes of metal filler were used, amounting to close to 1,500 kilometres of welding wire. However impressive the figures, the finalization of the ITER cryostat was, first and foremost, the product of a convergence of competencies, creativity and dedication. "The ITER one-team spirit eventually absorbed all the complexities of the project," said Jung. As remote participants from India look on, representatives of the ITER Organization, Larsen & Toubro Ltd, the Indian Embassy in Paris and MAN Energy Solutions are honoured with the first tree to be planted in the new butterfly garden at ITER Headquarters. For more than six years, the Cryostat Workshop pulsed with music, crane sirens, the clanging of metal on metal, and the chatter of English, Hindi, Gujarati, German and French voices. It is now almost silent, but will not remain so for long; soon, the vast football-field-size space (50 x 100 m) will accommodate new ITER assembly activities. In ITER memory, though, it will always be the place where the cryostat took shape in an exceptional, yearslong industrial adventure—a first-of-a-kind giant component for a first-of-a-kind giant machine. Click here to view a video of segment delivery and the assembly and welding of the ITER cryostat. THEY SAID... Praveen Bhatt (General Manager & Head Nuclear Business - L&T Heavy Engineering) — "L&T has always demonstrated its core strengths in the successful completion of 'first-of-a-kind' new technology development projects and the ITER cryostat is one of them. We learned and grew at every single stage, from engineering to the final assembly of sections in the Tokamak pit. To ensure 'first time right' manufacturing, we extensively developed prototypes prior to start of manufacture, used laser optics for measurements and virtual assemblies. Fixtures were designed and optimized through finite element analysis. We developed large size machine capability, distortion prediction and control." Norbert Anger (Head of Site, MAN Energy Solutions SE) â€” "This celebration is the result of excellent international cooperation. Thank you to all the engineers and designers—at ITER Organization, ITER India, L&T, and MAN—for their ideas, their excellent design work, and the endless long working hours they have spent here on site. And thank you to the specialists in the workshop at L&T for their forming, fitting, welding, machining and trial assembly work, and the MAN fitters, welders, and machining experts for their high quality work. All that with a strong eye to safety; we had no accident here on site." Anil Kumar Bhardwaj (Project Manager, Cryostat & VVPSS Group, ITER India, Institute for Plasma Research) â€” "In addition to the technical challenges already mentioned, I would like to add the challenge of freezing the interface design of the cryostat. The cryostat interfaces with all ITER systems. To finalize the interface design of the cryostat, when the other systems were in different stages of maturity, was challenging; in 2015, we encountered more than 20 manufacturing holds due to the design of interfaces alone. The cryostat team worked in a phased manner to release these holds without impacting the manufacturing schedule."

The 2022 Big Science Business Forum is the "one-stop meeting point" in Europe between Big Science and industry. Scheduled from 4 to 7 October 2022 as an in-person event in Granada, Spain, the forum will feature the procurement and technology transfer opportunities of eleven prominent European Big Science research facilities in the areas of astrophysics, space, synchrotrons, high-energy accelerators and fusion. The European Domestic Agency for ITER, Fusion for Energy, is one of the founding members of the Big Science Business Forum. Some speakers from the ITER Organization will also be present at the event. Business opportunities worth EUR 37 million (for the period 2022-2026) will be presented. More than 1,000 participants from 500 companies and organizations across Europe are expected.  A specific "Technology Transfer track" will provide research entities and companies at the forum with the means to share and seek technologies that have potential cross-market applications, either in Big Science or in other markets. Opportunities to get involved in the IFMIF-DONES materials research facility, a key step on the European Roadmap to Fusion Energy that is planned for construction in Granada, Spain, will also be highlighted. A special event dedicated to "Women in Big Science" is scheduled on Day 1. See all information at this address.