First procurement for ITER cryosystem signed
4 Jun 2010
The ITER cryolines supplying the torus and the cryostat. The line concerned by today's Procurement Arrangement is the green line in the basement.
On Friday 4 June, the first Procurement Arrangement for the ITER cryo-system was signed. The contract worth approximately EUR 5.4 million will be procured by the Indian Domestic Agency and covers the cryolines that will provide cooling power for all the ITER components that have to operate at cryogenic temperatures. At minus 269 degrees Celsius, that's pretty cool.
The ITER cryosystem will be the second largest in the world after the cooling system for the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The key challenges for the ITER system lie with its complex geometry and its capability to function in pulsed operation. The component will be built into the cryoplant and will be required in June 2013. That is why the contract, signed by ITER Director-General Kaname Ikeda, was rushed by priority mail to India.
A signature, a photo, and then the contract went straight to the post office.