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

  • Neutral beam power supply | Lightning-power voltage

    In January 2021, preparatory works began for the construction of two large buildings designed to accommodate a unique set of electrical equipment. A little more [...]

    Read more

  • MITICA | Cryopump passes site acceptance tests

    Cryopumps, which play an essential role in ITER, are not what one has in mind when picturing a pump. A conventional pump creates negative pressure to suck in fl [...]

    Read more

  • Construction progress | Bird's eye views, three years apart

    Taken three years apart (February 2020-February 2023) these two aerial photographs provide a spectacular illustration of progress on the ITER construction site. [...]

    Read more

  • Tritium breeding | Korea and Europe enter partnership

    The future of fusion rests on the availably of two hydrogen isotopes, deuterium (one proton, one neutron) and tritium (one proton, two neutrons). Extracting deu [...]

    Read more

  • Diagnostic windows | Preserving the view and the vacuum

    Punctuating the inner surface of the vacuum vessel are many strategically placed windows that will be used by diagnostic systems to 'observe' the plasma. " [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

Cryopumps

Time to hand over to industry

After more than 12 years of development, the ITER cryopump is ready for industrial procurement. The Procurement Arrangement for the eight production torus and cryostat cryopumps was signed on 16 November 2018 between the ITER Organization and the European Domestic Agency, Fusion for Energy.

The signature of the Torus and Cryostat Cryopump Procurement Arrangement opens the way to the industrial procurement of the equipment. The European Domestic Agency will procure the pumps and auxiliaries; the ITER Organization will be charged with installation, testing and commissioning. From left to right: Johannes Schwemmer, F4E Director; Robert Pearce, ITER Vacuum Section leader; ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot; and Matthias Dremel, Gilles Wolfers and Roberto Salemme from the ITER vacuum team. (Click to view larger version...)
The signature of the Torus and Cryostat Cryopump Procurement Arrangement opens the way to the industrial procurement of the equipment. The European Domestic Agency will procure the pumps and auxiliaries; the ITER Organization will be charged with installation, testing and commissioning. From left to right: Johannes Schwemmer, F4E Director; Robert Pearce, ITER Vacuum Section leader; ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot; and Matthias Dremel, Gilles Wolfers and Roberto Salemme from the ITER vacuum team.
As one of ITER's most complex components, and as a build-to-print procurement package, the Procurement Arrangement contains more than 500 drawings and approximately 400 pages of detailed manufacturing specifications.

ITER will rely on six torus and two cryostat cryopumps to maintain ultra-high vacuum inside the ITER vacuum vessel during operation and to create low density—about one million times lower than the density of air.

Following the successful manufacturing of the first pre-production cryopump, a final design review of the equipment took place in March 2018 with experts from the ITER Organization and the European Domestic Agency and external specialists. (Click to view larger version...)
Following the successful manufacturing of the first pre-production cryopump, a final design review of the equipment took place in March 2018 with experts from the ITER Organization and the European Domestic Agency and external specialists.
According to Robert Pearce, ITER Vacuum Section leader, the design of the ITER cryopumps design has been an engineering challenge due to their operation at both cryogenic temperatures (<4.5 K) and high temperatures (up to 500 K); the precision needed on the moving parts on the world's largest all-metal high vacuum valve; and their core importance to the reliable operation of ITER. "Not only did the pumps have to be designed, but the manufacturing of many of the parts had to be tested. The manufacturing of the pre-production cryopump (delivered to the ITER site in August 2017) paved the way for a successful final design review in March 2018."

This milestone has been achieved due to a strong collaboration between the ITER Organization and the European Domestic Agency, and has involved many actors including European industry and associations.

"Signing this Procurement Arrangement allows the call for tender to be released to manufacture the eight cryopumps," explain the technical officers for the procurement, ITER's Matthias Dremel and Fusion for Energy's Francina Canadell. "ITER will continue its collaboration throughout the manufacturing phase and this shall ensure delivery of the pumps to the ITER site in 2023 for installation in the divertor ports of the vacuum vessel and cryostat. These components are critical to achieving the vacuum necessary to initiate First Plasma in 2025."

The back of the pre-production cryopump, showing all the connection flanges to the pump and the valve actuator in the middle. Challenging to engineer, this high-tech realization is the result of more than 12 years of development. (Click to view larger version...)
The back of the pre-production cryopump, showing all the connection flanges to the pump and the valve actuator in the middle. Challenging to engineer, this high-tech realization is the result of more than 12 years of development.
Please also refer to a full report on the website of the European Domestic Agency (F4E)
here. The upcoming F4E call for tender will be published on this page.


return to the latest published articles