The International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) in Rokkasho, Japan will house a state-of-the-art accelerator capable of creating the kind of high-powered neutrons that will interact with first wall materials in future demonstration and commercial fusion power plants. The accelerator's technological feasibility is being tested through the design, manufacturing, installation, commissioning and testing activities of a 1:1-scale prototype accelerator known as LIPAc (Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator), whose aim is to generate a 140 mA deuteron beam at 100 keV. Following months of preparatory work, LIPAc activities have reached an important milestone. The deuteron injector—designed and manufactured at CEA Saclay in France as one of the voluntary contributions to the IFMIF project from France—passed acceptance tests and was shipped to Rokkasho last year. In November 2013 a joint team of European and Japanese engineers unpacked the injector components and proceeded with pre-installation activities under the guidance of Raphael Gobin and Patrick Girardot, experts from CEA. The first phase was completed at the end of the year and the installation phase has been initiated under the monitoring of the European Domestic Agency's Broader Fusion Development Department based Garching, Germany. The aim is to complete the assembly of the accelerator components and begin testing by early 2017. IFMIF is part of the Broader Approach Agreement signed between Europe and Japan. The role of the European Domestic Agency for ITER is to coordinate the European IFMIF activities supported by the voluntary contributions of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Its main responsibilities are the integration and follow‐up of activities conducted by European groups working on the three projects of IFMIF: the prototype accelerator, the test facility and the target facility. You can read the original article and find out more about the Broader Approach here.

To read the original story on the Fusion for Energy website, click here. Manufacturing has begun for the 70 large D-shaped radial plates that will hold the conductor in place within ITER's toroidal field coils. Following the prototype and machining trial stages, manufacturing has been launched at CNIM Industrial Systems (France) and SIMIC Spa (Italy); each firm is responsible for producing 35 radial plates.   Two pre-machined radial plates await electron beam welding operations in the welding shop (© CNIM/Christophe Chabert). To fulfil the contract from the European Domestic Agency, CNIM has renovated its Brégaillon industrial site and added a brand-new 3,000 m² production hall close to the sea to facilitate the transportation of the large components. The new building is fully air-conditioned to keep equipment at a constant temperature during its final machining. A 9 x 36 m portal machining centre is ready to machine two radial plates simultaneously to a precision of several tens of microns, according to Jean-Claude Cercassi, CNIM Commercial Development Manager. Work is progressing quickly now that the first batches of raw material have been delivered. "The stainless steel segments have been machined and we are about to start with the electron beam welding," Cercassi explains, an activity made possible by the installation of a dismountable vacuum chamber.   SIMIC Spa built a new industrial building in Porto Marghera to accommodate the production of the radial plate prototype, with brand new facilities and tooling in order to support the production of the radial plates. A massive portal machine has been installed that will operate in addition to one used for the machining of the prototype. SIMIC Spa's Marianna Ginola explains. "The manufacturing phase of the radial plates is the most exciting part of our contribution to the Project. Our new building is ready, new tooling is in place. The production of the radial plates has started! This is a turning point for the Project because the design starts taking shape and the impressive milling machine that SIMIC has invested in is put into operation. Our expertise will be fully deployed to deliver these key components."   Gantry machine for final machining operations on two radial plates simultaneously (© CNIM/Christophe Chabert). The first radial plates are scheduled to be completed in July, when they will be transported by sea to La Spezia (Italy) to be fitted inside the ITER toroidal field coils at a facility run by ASG Superconductors. After producing a second batch five weeks later, CNIM and SIMIC Spa are expected to accelerate production to the rate of one plate every four weeks.   To learn more about the manufacturing of toroidal field coil components click here.   To read the original story on the Fusion for Energy website, click here.

This week, the ITER Organization welcomes Mary Erlenborn who is taking up duty as the new Director for General Administration. For Mary this will be a sort of déjà vu: some 22 years ago, in 1992, she joined the ITER team in San Diego where she directed the Joint Work Site's multi-faceted business office activities, including procurement, budgeting, reporting, facilities and resource management.   During those days, the ITER Project was taking shape during what was called the ITER Engineering Design Activities phase. There were three ITER Joint Work Sites distributed around the globe—Garching, Germany, with almost 70 staff; Naka, Japan with 80 staff at its peak; and finally San Diego, with more than 90 employees.   When the San Diego site closed in 1999 it was Mary who returned the facility keys to the landlord. "That was a sad moment," Mary recalls. "Those seven years were a very special time in my life. They have left a warm spot in my heart."   Mary's career has taken her from her hometown of Dwight, Illinois, to Chicago and then to California where she worked as an audit manager for Deloitte followed by 17 years with the Science Applications International Corporation—a ten-billion-dollar Fortune 500 scientific, engineering and technology applications company.   Until her appointment as head of General Administration for the ITER Organization in France she served as the Chief Financial Officer for the San Diego Data Processing Corporation.   Now she's about to open a brand-new chapter as she and her husband Tom are beginning a new life in old Europe. A few weeks ago she spent a couple of days at ITER Headquarters to breathe the French air, to introduce herself to staff and to get prepared for what she calls "a big challenge."    "I know it is not going to be a smooth ride," she says. But having spoken to a lot of people during her two-day visit she feels confident. "I am very impressed by everyone's knowledge and commitment, and by their desire for success. And success is what we need. I am an environmentalist! We need solutions besides fossil fuels!"

The enormous ITER superconducting magnets will operate at only four degrees above absolute zero and will be powered by converters located in buildings outside the Tokamak Complex. The connection of these cold magnets to the room-temperature electrical busbars is implemented through a unique series of components where the cold and warm worlds meet—the high temperature superconducting current leads. The prototypes of these leads will be cooled down and powered for the first time at the ASIPP Institute in Hefei, China during the second half of 2014. The ITER Magnet and Control System Divisions have worked together for the last two years on the design and construction of the instrumentation, control, and interlock systems that will be necessary to safely perform these tests. This joint effort reached its first milestone last December when the Factory Acceptance Test of the control system for the lead tests was successfully completed on the premises of Tata Consulting Services (TCS) in Pune, India. Staff from ITER as well as Indian engineers from TCS and Chinese scientists from ASIPP have worked last year to get the control system ready for delivery on time. These tests represent an important milestone not only for our colleagues in the Magnet Division but also for the CODAC and interlock teams at the ITER Organization. The design of this control system is fully based on the hardware and software solutions developed by these teams during the last years and the tests are a very useful opportunity to prove their performance and identify any potential improvements. Last but not least, this project has shown how two ITER Divisions in two different Directorates can make a success out of a common endeavour. The cubicles shown above were packed in Mumbai for a flight to China in the coming days, where they will be commissioned and finally connected to the equipment under testing conditions.

With over 7,000 visitors in 2013, the newly formed ITER Visit Team has been busy welcoming and accommodating visitors since taking over visit coordination tasks last year from the Joint Visits Team (a joint venture between ITER Organization, Agence Iter France and the European Domestic Agency Fusion for Energy). Agence Iter France has refocused its activities on school visits, welcoming over 8,000 schoolchildren in 2013 for a specially adapted program on fusion and site biodiversity. While the ITER website has often been the first point of contact for the public and the fusion community, it is during an ITER visit that visitors get a chance to put a "face" to the project. The purpose of the visits is to educate the public on fusion basics, acquaint them with the current status of the project and take them on a tour of the construction site. At ITER, Human Resources and Communications & External Relations have joined forces to make site tours part of induction training for all ITER staff. The first tour in this series took place on 7 February 2014 with the participation of 65 new staff members. Newcomer site visits will take place on a quarterly basis. The ITER Visit Team welcomes visitors of all backgrounds—from fusion experts to professionals, government delegations and the general public—drawing on the participation of many ITER staff members who volunteer their time as well as logistics support from Agence Iter France and Fusion for Energy.  From the 10 year old hearing about fusion for the first time, to the fusion experts finally seeing their research come to fruition, each ITER visit is specially tailored. Common questions range from "When will we have commercial fusion reactors?" and "How much does the ITER Project cost?" to "Where do we get tritium?" and "Why do we need it?" The number of visitors has been steadily increasing since 2007, with over 65,000 cumulative visitors to the site (14,820 in 2013). School visits account for 53 percent of the visits in 2013, with the general public coming in at 21 percent and professionals making up the third largest category of visitors at 9 percent.  To reserve your visit at ITER, please visit www.iter.org/visit or email @email.

​The European Commission has launched a prize to reward excellence in innovation in the fusion research program as well as the quality of the researchers and industries involved. Participants are free to submit an application for any physics or technological innovation developed within the European Fusion research program that has demonstrated market potential. An independent jury appointed by the European Commission will evaluate the proposals and rank the first, second and third place winners who will receive EUR 15,000, 10,000 and 5,000 respectively. Winners will be announced at the SOFT conference in September 2014. For more detailed information on general conditions and eligibility, click here.

​The Oxford City Deal investment into hi-tech research laboratories and businesses in Oxfordshire, announced this week, was particularly good news for Culham Centre of Fusion Energy, operated by the UK Atomic Energy Authority. A major element of this initiative sees the UK government investing £7.8 million (with matching funds from industry) into a remote applications facility, to be based at a brand new building at Culham. The facility is part of a broader programme of activities in automated and remote handling and is planned to be built in 2015 and operating in 2016. It will enable CCFE and partner organisations (National Nuclear Laboratory, The Welding Institute Technology Centre, National Physical Laboratory and Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre) to offer their expertise in remote interventions and autonomous systems to a wider commercial sector. [...] With the addition of expertise from the project partners, including remote and autonomous working in challenging environments and remote welding techniques, the new centre will offer industry access to an unparalleled concentration of test facilities and expertise to develop and apply technology of remote applications. [...] Fusion research will benefit from the centre as well. Building on CCFE's considerable expertise in remote handling, the centre will enable ever more complex remote handling techniques to be perfected — essential for the efficient and reliable performance of maintenance tasks in the harsh environment inside ITER. And the centre will support CCFE's intention to host one of the design centres for DEMO — the demonstration fusion power reactor expected to follow ITER.  Read the full article here.

​The fourth issue of NFRI News was released in January. Click on the link below for the latest news from Korea on research in plasma science and fusion energy.

At the end of January, the National Fusion Research Institute (NFRI) presented Kiswire Advanced Technology (KAT) with a plaque in appreciation of its outstanding contribution to the ITER Project. In November 2013, Korea became the first Domestic Agency to complete the production of niobium-tin (Nb3Sn) strand for ITER's toroidal field conductors. In four years, the manufacturer KAT fabricated 93 tons of Nb3Sn strand—completing the full Korean contribution to ITER toroidal field conductors.

​Nearly 30 years after the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity, many questions remain, but an Oak Ridge National Laboratory team is providing insight that could lead to better superconductors. Their work, published in Physical Review Letters, examines the role of chemical dopants, which are essential to creating high-temperature superconductors — materials that conduct electricity without resistance. The role of dopants in superconductors is particularly mysterious as they introduce non-uniformity and disorder into the crystal structure, which increases resistivity in non-superconducting materials. By gaining a better understanding of how and why chemical dopants alter the behavior of the original (parent) material, scientists believe they can design superconductors that work at higher temperatures. This would make them more practical for real-world wire applications because it would lessen the extreme cooling required for conventional superconducting material. Read the full Press Release here.

​The hopes for fusion power ride on the success of the next big international experiment, ITER. So when it comes to keeping ITER running safely, nothing is being left to chance. CCFE is using the latest computer modelling techniques to predict 'worst case scenarios' for the magnets that will control the plasma of fusion fuel inside the machine; meaning the project team at ITER can ensure their protection systems are ready for anything. Read more on CCFE website.

​It's all systems go for the upgrade of the UK's fusion experiment MAST after a nailbiting operation to move the entire machine was completed just before Christmas. In order to refit MAST's magnetic coils, diagnostics, power supplies and a plethora of other systems, the tokamak has had to be stripped down and removed from its machine hall to an assembly area where upgrade work can be carried out. And transporting 25 tonnes of extremely valuable scientific hardware, even a relatively short distance, is no mean feat.   Read more and view a video here.  

​ITER China has just launched the English version of its website. Follow this link for procurement news, events and milestones.

Six members of the Korean National Assembly visited ITER on 7 January, accompanied by the head of the Korean Domestic Agency for ITER, Kijung Jung. After a tour of the construction site, which they qualified as "impressive," the delegates were welcomed by ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima who was pleased to have the chance to thank the delegation members for Korea's contribution to the Project and constant support.