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News & Media

Latest ITER Newsline

  • On site | 28 who "truly shined"

    The new ITER Star Awards recognize exemplary performance and commitment. Every year, during the annual assessment campaign, ITER staff may be recognized for exe [...]

    Read more

  • MT-28 Conference | Superconducting magnets as a catalyst

    Many passers-by paused for a moment and picked up their cell phones to capture the scene. It was indeed rare to see dancers on the square outside of the Pavillo [...]

    Read more

  • Fusion world | TCV tokamak turns 30

    The Swiss TCV tokamak (for Tokamak à Configuration Variable, or 'variable configuration' tokamak) has been exploring the physics of nuclear fusion for 30 years [...]

    Read more

  • Image of the week | Port cell with a view

    A visit to ITER would not be complete without a peek into the Tokamak pit where the machine is being progressively assembled. For several years, one of the equa [...]

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  • Visit | Chinese Minister reaffirms "full support"

    ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi and the Chinese Minister of Science and Technology (MOST) Wang Zhigang share a common academic background. They both tra [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

Five years later...

Five years ago, on Wednesday 4 August 2010, a lone power shovel began removing the first cubic metres of rock and top soil from the northern side of the ITER platform. In six months, some 230,000 cubic metres of material were excavated for the Tokamak Complex.

In five years, the moonlike landscape of 2010 has turned into a bustling environment of tall cranes, concrete and rebar, and steel columns rising as high as a 15-storey building.<br /><br /> (Click to view larger version...)
In five years, the moonlike landscape of 2010 has turned into a bustling environment of tall cranes, concrete and rebar, and steel columns rising as high as a 15-storey building.

In parallel, 250 metres away, bulldozers and scrapers were levelling the ground at the site of a large winding facility for some of ITER's largest magnets. After creating a smooth "sub-base," the concrete floor slab was poured and, within 18 months, a 257-metre-long steel structure erected.

Since then, the anti-seismic foundations of the Tokamak Complex have been set into place, drainage and precipitation networks finalized, a 400 kV electrical substation installed, and progress made on the Assembly Building—the 60-metre-high edifice that will host the pre-assembly operations for ITER machine components.

In five years, the moonlike landscape of 2010 has turned into a bustling environment of tall cranes, concrete and rebar, and steel columns rising as high as a 15-storey building.

The number of workers on the construction site will increase from 400 to 1,000 by the end of the year as the pace of construction accelerates and a number of ancillary buildings begin to rise. More than EUR 4 billion worth of contracts signed for ITER construction are acquiring a tangible shape on the ITER platform... (See the slideshows in this issue.)

As Newsline closes for its traditional summer recess, work inside of the offices and on the platform will continue at a determined pace, providing us with plenty of stories to report.
 
We'll be back in late August with our next issue!

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