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Home > The Project > Building ITER

Building ITER

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The ITER platform in Cadarache, where construction will begin in 2010 on buildings and facilities. Photo: Agence ITER France.
Site preparation at Cadarache in Southern France began in January 2007, representing an important first milestone in the ten year-long construction process to build ITER.

Work is divided into two main phases: preparation of the physical site and the subsequent construction of the ITER buildings.
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Ten years down the road: ITER in 2018.

Site Preparation

The ITER project is situated on a total of 180 hectares of land in St-Paul-lez- Durance, a commune in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southern France that is already home to France's nuclear research centre, the CEA (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique).

The most important feature of the ITER site will be a raised 42-hectare platform - the approximate size of 60 soccer fields - that will hold the scientific buildings and facilities. As part of France's engagements as the host country, site work is carried out under the responsibility of the Agence ITER France, an entity of the CEA.

Site Clearing

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Preparatory site work has taken two years to complete, including clearing and levelling of 40 hectares for the ITER platform. Photo: Agence ITER France.
About 90 hectares were cleared for the ITER project, leaving half the site in its original wooded state. This first phase of work took over one year to compete. Particular care was taken to protect the local fauna and flora: an ecological inventory was completed before starting the work during which several plant and animal species were identified for protection in specific on-site zones. These included some types of bats, birds, beetles, butterflies, and a rare variety of orchid.

Archaeological surveys made by the French Institute INRAP followed, revealing several traces of the past in the soil of the ITER site. A lime kiln, a charcoal oven and remnants of a glass factory were discovered that dated from the 18th century. Alongside the public road during work for the ITER hydraulic network, several tombs were also found that were presumably part of a small necropolis dating to the 5th century A.D.

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An aerial view of the ITER platform. Photo: Agence ITER France/VDC.

Site Levelling

The site levelling began in March 2008 and was completed in April 2009. The platform for ITER scientific buildings and facilities is now ready. It measures 1 kilometre long by 400 metres wide, and totals about 42 hectares; it is one of the largest man-made levelled surfaces in the world. 2.5 million cubic metres of material were excavated in the process. Most of this material has been re-employed on site for backfill. An estimated 350 000 tons of ITER buildings will be erected on this platform.

ITER Building Construction

ITER buildings will be designed to merge into the surrounding landscape. The tallest building, housing the Tokamak, will culminate at 57 metres and be visible from some distance away. Its design will take its height into account in order to reduce its visual impact on the landscape.

Office Buildings

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The future ITER Organization headquarters. Photo: Ricciotti.
After erecting temporary office space for 300 staff on the ITER site in 2008, Agence ITER France will begin work on the permanent ITER Organization headquarters in 2010, with delivery projected for 2012. The 18 700m² building is designed to house 750 ITER staff, a 500-seat amphitheatre, a library and a restaurant. It has been conceived to fit gracefully into the natural surroundings, and will conform to the highest environmental standards.
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A model of the future ITER site.

Scientific Buildings

Construction of the scientific buildings and dedicated areas on the ITER platform will be managed by the European Domestic Agency, Fusion for Energy.

The Tokamak building will be the core of ITER, where fusion experiments will begin in 2018. The reinforced concrete structure will sit 5 1/2 stories underground (17 metres) and 19 stories above (57 metres). Adjacent to the main building, an assembly hall will be the location for pre-assembly of Tokamak components.

Auxiliary buildings encircling the Tokamak will include cooling towers, electrical installations, a control room, facilities for the management of waste, and laboratory facilities.
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Roadworks along the ITER Itinerary should be completed by early 2010.

ITER Itinerary

Key components for the Tokamak will be manufactured in the seven Member States and shipped to France by sea. From the port in Berre l'Etang on the Mediterranean, the components will be transported by special convoy along the 106 kilometres of the ITER Itinerary to Cadarache. The exceptional size and weight of certain of the Tokamak components made large-scale public works necessary to widen roads, reinforce bridges and modify intersections. Cost will be shared by the Bouches-du-Rhône department Council (79%) and the French State (21%). Work on the Itinerary will be completed in 2010.

During the ITER construction phase, 200 of these exceptional convoys will travel by night at reduced speeds along the ITER Itinerary, bypassing 16 villages, negotiating 16 roundabouts, and crossing 35 bridges.