What’s New

1 June 2015

ITER news digest for the period of 25 May 2015 to 1 June 2015.

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Featured (3)

Of interest (4)

Press (10)

Featured

800 visitors on the fusion launch pad

Almost ready to lift

Russian gyrotron prototype passes acceptance tests

MAST-Upgrade fusion device advances ahead of schedule

Another key step in the building of the MAST-Upgrade fusion device was taken last week with the joining of the first two main segments of the new machine.

MAST-Upgrade was designed to be divided into seven modules to maximize the amount of assembly work that could be carried out at the same time. On Thursday 28 May, a day ahead of schedule, two modules were brought together for the first time. The 30-tonne MAST-Upgrade vacuum vessel (known as the outer cylinder module) was lifted onto the lower cassette module, a key part of the Super-X divertor — the innovative plasma exhaust system that is a key feature of the new device.

This was the culmination of a huge amount of design, procurement and assembly effort by the MAST-Upgrade team over the past 12 months. It means the project remains on track to hit its major build milestones over the coming months and deliver a machine ready for pump-down by October 2016.

Read the full story on the website of the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE).

Permalink : https://www.iter.org/of-interest?id=475

Chinese ambassador tours site

On Wednesday 27 May, ITER received the Chinese ambassador to France, Mr Zhai Jun, who visited the project with a delegation of 12 as part of a diplomatic tour of southern France.

Ambassador Zhai met with ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot, toured the construction site, and met Chinese staff members. To all, he expressed his interest in the project that "may change the future course for all humanity."

Ambassador Zhai was accompanied by his wife, Mme Wang Xinxia (second from left); the Chinese Consul-General in Marseille, Mme Yu Jinsong (second from right); and members of the embassy and consular staff. Also pictured: Management Advisory Committee member Peng Yiqi (far right) and head of the Chinese Domestic Agency Luo Delong (far right).

Permalink : https://www.iter.org/of-interest?id=473

US participation in Wendelstein 7-X stellarator renewed

The Wendelstein 7-X fusion project at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Greifswald, Germany is slated to begin operation later this year. The US, through the Department of Energy, contributed financing to the construction of the device; now, US scientists will have the opportunity to be involved in the research conducted on the machine from 2015 to 2017 with a contribution of about $4 million annually.

The renewed funding enables US universities to take an active role in the research program during the next three years. Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will measure the turbulence in the plasma by various methods; scientists from the universities at Wisconsin and Auburn will be concerned with the properties of the plasma edge. Finally, studies on a probe for measuring electric fields in the plasma will be conducted by a private research company, Xantho Technologies, in Madison, Wisconsin.

Three national research centres (Princeton, Oak Ridge and Los Alamos) will also be involved in projects on Wendelstein 7-X, including the construction and operation of an X-ray spectrometer, development of a pellet injector that injects tiny frozen hydrogen pellets to refuel the plasma, and operation of the five large auxiliary coils supplied by the US.

Read the full article on the IPP website.

(image credit: RST Rostock/EADS)

Permalink : https://www.iter.org/of-interest?id=476

A three-day training session for DAHER partners

Since February 2012, and the signature of a major framework contract with the ITER Organization, the group DAHER is the Logistics Service Provider for the project's global transport, logistics and insurance needs.

Through implementation agreements concluded with each ITER Domestic Agency, DAHER (or DAHER partners nominated locally) will manage the complex logistics related to the transport of ITER components from suppliers all over the globe to the ITER site.

In May 2015, as part of a three-day training session held by DAHER for its logistics partners from China (Sinotrans) and India (Deugro India), a site visited was organized at ITER.

"Our main objective is to offer an equal level of services to all the Members of the global ITER Project," said François Genevey, Daher director for ITER logistics. "Our partners located in each Member are recognized specialists who offer a regional point of contact and expertise. DAHER ensures that each partner is provided with all IT tools and processes that allow for the delivery of the best services to the Domestic Agencies."

In addition to the site visit, the training program also included a visit of facilities at the Mediterranean arrival point for all ITER components arriving by sea (Fos-sur-Mer); the discovery of the 104-kilometre itinerary to ITER; an introduction to DAHER logistics tools for ITER; and a session on the management of Protection Important Components (PIC) and, more generally, on the specific demands of a basic nuclear installation like ITER in France.

A similar kick-off meeting was held in September 2014 for DAHER partners from Japan, Korea and the US.

Daher partners for ITER are : Cosco and Sinotrans (China), Deugro (India), Hitachi (Japan), Shin Jo (Korea), and Transproject (US).