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

  • 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

  • Education | 13th ITER International School announced

    The 13th ITER International School (IIS) will be held from 9 to 13 December in Nagoya hosted by National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), Japan. The subject [...]

    Read more

  • Open Doors Day | Having fun while discovering ITER

    A public event on Saturday 13 April draws a big crowd. It was a beautiful, summer-like day on Saturday 13 April. Perfect for a journey into ITER. Nearly 800 mem [...]

    Read more

  • Fusion world | Increased awareness in a changing landscape

    The world of fusion research is changing fast, and world leaders are taking notice. The large public projects that occupied centre stage for the past decades ar [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

Signatures complete transfer of ion source power supply

Occupying a full room at the PRIMA neutral beam test facility in Italy, the ion source extraction grid power supply is an important power supply component for the ion source test bed SPIDER. Following successful site acceptance tests last year, the equipment has now been officially transferred for use.

The power required for the operation of SPIDER will be provided in part by this room-size ion source extraction grid power supply provided by Europe. (Click to view larger version...)
The power required for the operation of SPIDER will be provided in part by this room-size ion source extraction grid power supply provided by Europe.
In Padua, Italy, the neutral beam test facility for ITER—PRIMA—is taking shape. The physical infrastructure has been completed, components are being installed for the ion-source test stand SPIDER, and manufacturing is underway for the components of the injector test stand MITICA.

The goal of SPIDER is to develop a full-size ion source equivalent to that which will be used on the heating neutral beams and the diagnostic neutral beam at ITER.

The power required for the operation of SPIDER will be provided by an acceleration grid power supply provided by India and an ion source and extraction grid power supply (ISEPS) and transmission line provided by Europe in order to feed the radio frequency ion source. The design and manufacture of the power supplies were carried out in collaboration with the European Domestic Agency, PRIMA host Consorzio RFX and the ITER Organization.

On 6 February 2017, the ownership and responsibility for the first part, the ion source extraction power supply ISEPS, was transferred from the European Domestic Agency to the ITER Organization. As the test facility is located in Italy, the operation of ISEPS will be in the hands of Consorzio RFX; for this reason, the responsibility for use of the power supply was transferred on the same day to the RFX team.

The multi-year development of the ion source extraction grid power supply came to an end in 2016, with successful site acceptance tests at PRIMA. (Photo: April 2016) (Click to view larger version...)
The multi-year development of the ion source extraction grid power supply came to an end in 2016, with successful site acceptance tests at PRIMA. (Photo: April 2016)
The signature process, which took place remotely, is the culmination of a number of key milestones: a final design review on the ion source and extraction power supply in May 2011; successful factory acceptance tests in May 2014; delivery to the PRIMA site in April 2015; successful site acceptance tests in April 2016; the completion of all site activities in September 2016; and finally the signature of the transfer forms on 1 February 2017.

The achievement of so many successive milestones was the result of close collaboration between the European Domestic Agency, the supplier OCEM ET (Italy) and its main subcontractor Himmelwerk GmbH (Germany), PRIMA host Consorzio RFX, and the ITER Organization.

return to the latest published articles