Subscribe options

Select your newsletters:

Please enter your email address:

@

Your email address will only be used for the purpose of sending you the ITER Organization publication(s) that you have requested. ITER Organization will not transfer your email address or other personal data to any other party or use it for commercial purposes.

If you change your mind, you can easily unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe option at the bottom of an email you've received from ITER Organization.

For more information, see our Privacy policy.

News & Media

Latest ITER Newsline

  • ITER Design Handbook | Preserving the vital legacy of ITER

    The contributions that ITER is making to fusion physics and engineering—through decades of decisions and implementation—are delivering insights to the fusion co [...]

    Read more

  • Electron cyclotron heating | Aligning technology and physics

    ITER, like other fusion devices, will rely on a mix of external heating technologies to bring the plasma to the temperature necessary for fusion. At a five-day [...]

    Read more

  • Poloidal field magnets | The last ring

    As the massive ring-shaped coil inched its way from the Poloidal Field Coils Winding Facility, where it was manufactured, to the storage facility nearby where i [...]

    Read more

  • Heat rejection | White "smoke" brings good news

    Like a plume of white smoke rising from a cardinals' conclave to announce the election of a new pope, the tenuous vapour coming from one of the ITER cooling cel [...]

    Read more

  • WEC 2024 | Energy on centre stage

    The global players in the energy sector convened in Rotterdam last week for the 26th edition of the World Energy Congress (WEC). The venue was well chosen, wit [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

Vacuum Vessel Project Team meets in Korea

In early April, more than 50 experts met in Korea to discuss the fabrication of the ITER vacuum vessel, a technically challenging procurement that involves four ITER Domestic Agencies, the ITER Central Team and a large number of industrial contractors.

A penetration for in-vessel viewing and divertor cooling pipes at Hyundai Heavy Industries, in Ulsan. From left to right: ITER Vacuum Vessel and Thermal Shield Section Alex Martin, Yuri Utin and Chang-Ho Choi; Emmanuel Verdesio, Project Manager at AMW. (Click to view larger version...)
A penetration for in-vessel viewing and divertor cooling pipes at Hyundai Heavy Industries, in Ulsan. From left to right: ITER Vacuum Vessel and Thermal Shield Section Alex Martin, Yuri Utin and Chang-Ho Choi; Emmanuel Verdesio, Project Manager at AMW.
In 2015, representatives from all involved parties were reunited in the Vacuum Vessel Project Team, created by the ITER Executive Project Board to promote synergies, the sharing of experience, and the rapid resolution of fabrication issues for the vacuum vessel sectors, ports and in-wall shielding.

The vacuum vessel is a double-walled, hermetically sealed stainless steel vessel that houses the fusion reaction and acts as a first safety containment barrier. In the space between the double walls, steel in-wall shielding blocks will provide protection from neutron radiation for components situated outside of the vessel; in addition, cooling water will circulate to remove the heat generated during operation. Openings, or ports, in the vacuum vessel will provide access for remote handling operations, diagnostics, heating, and vacuum systems.

At the Project Team meeting held from 4 to 7 April at the National Fusion Research Institute and Hyundai Heavy Industry, members of the ITER Organization, the Domestic Agencies of Europe, India, Korea and Russia, and contractors AMW (Ansaldo Nucleare S.p.A, Mangiarotti S.p.A and Walter Tosto S.p.A.), Avasarala Technologies Ltd, Hyundai Heavy Industry, MDT (MAN Diesel & Turbo SE) and ENSA discussed manufacturing challenges—including complex interfaces, instrumentation, tolerances and technologies—and opportunities for simplification and improvement.

Already, collaboration within the Project Team has led to a marked acceleration in document review and approval time, the establishment of a baseline schedule for all procuring Domestic Agencies for monitoring purposes, and the much-improved resolution of interface issues. All participants to the April meeting agreed to keep on in this spirit.

View photo gallery below.



return to the latest published articles