Video
Preparing for the assembly phase
28 Oct 2019
In the spring of 2020, as the first machine components are lowered by overhead crane into the assembly pit, a new chapter will open in the history of ITER construction.
A huge crawler crane, with a boom reaching more than a hundred metres in height, is tasked with installing the elements of the steel structure that will form the crane hall. (Photo ITER Organization, EJF Riche)
The aligned pillars on top of the Tokamak Building are the most visible elements of the works underway to prepare for that phase.
The 28-tonne pillars are part of a massive steel structure that will create a crane hall above the assembly pit and permit the extension of the rails that support the heavy lift bridge cranes.
A monster crawler crane, with a boom reaching more than a hundred metres in height, was brought in to perform the lifting and installation of the steel elements; a second will soon join it for the installation of the roof segments beginning in December.
Click here for a recent video of the pillars, crawler crane and ongoing works in and around the Tokamak Complex (Courtesy of Manitowoc cranes).