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

  • Vacuum components | Shake, rattle, and... qualify!

    A public-private testing partnership certified that ITER's vacuum components can withstand major seismic events. Making sure the ITER tokamak will be safe in th [...]

    Read more

  • Feeders | Delivering the essentials

    Like a circle of giant syringes all pointing inward, the feeders transport and deliver the essentials to the 10,000-tonne ITER magnet system—that is, electrical [...]

    Read more

  • Image of the week | It's FAB season

    It's FAB season at ITER. Like every year since 2008, the Financial Audit Board (FAB) will proceed with a meticulous audit of the project's finances, siftin [...]

    Read more

  • Disruption mitigation | Final design review is a major step forward

    The generations of physicists, engineers, technicians and other specialists who have worked in nuclear fusion share a common goal, dedication and responsibility [...]

    Read more

  • Image of the week | Like grasping a bowl of cereal

    Contrary to the vast majority of ITER machine components, the modules that form the central solenoid cannot be lifted by way of hooks and attachments. The 110-t [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

First ITER winding pack completed in Europe

A major ITER procurement milestone was recorded in April by the European Domestic Agency, as contractors completed the first 110-tonne toroidal field winding pack. The winding pack, or D-shaped inner core, will now be cold tested at -200 °C/80 K before being inserted into a massive stainless steel case to form a final toroidal field coil assembly measuring 9 x 17 metres and weighing 310 tonnes.

A giant magnet ... and a giant step forward for ITER. Representatives from the European Domestic Agency, the ITER Organization and contractors stand inside of the first inner winding pack of an ITER toroidal field coil. (Click to view larger version...)
A giant magnet ... and a giant step forward for ITER. Representatives from the European Domestic Agency, the ITER Organization and contractors stand inside of the first inner winding pack of an ITER toroidal field coil.
Work is already underway on the assembly of a second winding pack at ASG Superconductors in La Spezia, Italy.

In ITER 18 toroidal field magnets—each made up of a winding pack and stainless steel coil case—will surround the vacuum vessel to produce the powerful magnetic field that will confine the particles of the ITER plasma. Europe has the procurement responsibility for half the coils plus one spare; Japan is producing nine coils and all stainless steel coil cases.

For Alessandro Bonito-Oliva, Europe's manager for magnets, "This is a landmark achievement for the whole project. We have been working really hard to meet the tight planning and manage all interfaces so that all pieces come together at the right time. The very good collaboration between the teams of the European Domestic Agency, the ITER Organization and the Japanese Domestic Agency has helped us to reach this point and go beyond as production accelerates."

To produce the first toroidal field winding pack, European contractors Iberdrola (Spain), ASG Superconductors (Italy), and Elytt Energy (Spain) collaborated closely with radial plate manufacturers CNIM and SIMIC. The step-by-step process included the winding of cable-in-conduit, niobium-tin-based superconductors into flat spirals called double pancakes, insertion into radial plates, impregnation with epoxy resin, and finally the stacking, jointing, wrapping, and full electrical insulation of seven double pancakes to form the final winding pack.

Europe estimates that more than 600 people from at least 26 companies have contributed to this milestone.

return to the latest published articles