Component deliveries
50th mammoth convoy in 6 years
1 Feb 2021
On a cold January morning six years ago, the first in a long series of "Highly Exceptional Loads" made its way through the ITER gates. Procured by the US and manufactured in Korea, the 90-tonne high-voltage transformer had travelled by container ship, barge and eventually trailer—a 9,000-kilometre journey by sea and a final 104-kilometre stretch along the "ITER Itinerary." In the years that followed, more than one hundred loads would be delivered to the ITER construction site, many of them larger, longer and much heavier. At dawn on Friday 29 January, yet another convoy—the 50th in six years—entered the ITER premises to deliver the last two segments of the cryostat top lid.
The 50th ITER convoy, transporting the two last segments of the cryostat top lid, is seen here as it crosses the A51 thruway in Provence on the last leg of its journey to the ITER construction site.
Once again, the massive, high-precision logistics involved in component delivery were on full display, with no fewer than three dozen vehicles and close to one hundred people—a full squadron of specialized gendarmes among them.
Because each component is unique, a convoy along the ITER Itinerary is never routine. The speed and the trajectory of the trailer along the entire route are determined by component dimensions and weight, as well as the gravity centre of the load. Once calculated and modelized, the instructions are fed to the drivers' tablet, and must be faultlessly observed. Road signage needs to be removed before the passage of the convoy and reinstalled immediately after. Gendarmes on motor scooters are tasked with opening and closing intersections to ensure that both the convoy and the public are safe. As part of the planning for every convoy, thruway employees manage the night-long closure to traffic and reopening the following morning.
Six years of experience have taught the participating parties many lessons. The carefully staged operation has acquired an agility that considerably reduces each convoy's impact on the local population—an important parameter, as approximately 100 others are scheduled before First Plasma.
View a short video of the 50th ITER convoy.
See some of the highlights of the past six years along the ITER Itinerary in the gallery below.
Each component is unique and a convoy along the ITER Itinerary is never routine. Moments before departure, a last team meeting brings together the drivers, the technical operators and the security forces to review the specifics of the operation.
Six years of experience have taught the participating parties many lessons. The carefully staged operation has acquired an agility that considerably reduces each convoy's impact on the local population—an important parameter, as approximately 100 others are scheduled before First Plasma.
View a short video of the 50th ITER convoy.
See some of the highlights of the past six years along the ITER Itinerary in the gallery below.
January 2015
A historical moment. At dawn on 14 January 2015, the first of a long series of "Highly Exceptional Loads"—a US-procured high-voltage transformer manufactured in Korea—passes the gates of the ITER construction site.
On a stretch of road that connects the salt marshes and oil refineries to the village of Berre, a 342-wheel, self-propelled transport platform slowly progresses. Its load is one of the heaviest (400 tonnes) and widest (11.5 metres) of all ITER components—poloidal field coil #6 (PF6), procured by Europe and manufactured in China.
September 2013
It takes something really exceptional to pull people out of their homes, old and young alike, and bring them to the roadside in the middle of the night. The first test convoy, on 16 September 2013, did just that ...
April 2014
A second test convoy was organized in April 2014 (this time including the maritime leg) to test the operation's logistics. Pushed and pulled by powerful tugs, the barge and its 600-tonne load are seen here as they pass the Fort de Bouc lighthouse at the entrance of the oil tanker terminal of Lavéra.
August 2020
The first of nine ITER vacuum vessel sectors is delivered to the ITER site by Korea in August 2020. Three other sectors from Korea and five from Europe are expected on site by late 2022 or early 2023.
Toroidal field coil #12 is the first D-shaped vertical coil delivered by Japan. The component travelled the last leg of its journey from the other side of the world during the night of 24 to 25 April 2020. It is seen here passing through the village of Peyrolles-en-Provence, some 20 kilometres west of ITER.
April 2020
Procured by Europe and finalized in Italy, the first of the 18 D-shaped toroidal field coils (TF9) required for the ITER machine reached the construction site at dawn on 17 April 2020.
May 2017
Three storage tanks for gaseous helium are on their way to ITER in May 2017 along the Itinerary, shipped by the European Domestic Agency as part of its contributions to the ITER cryoplant.
April 2016
On 21 April 2016, the convoy transporting two 47-tonne, 50-metre-long girders for the overhead cranes in the Assembly Hall is one of the longest that ever travelled the roads of southern France (some 250 metres from head to tail).
September 2015
Procured by the US, three drain tanks—two for the cooling water system of the ITER Tokamak and a third for the neutral beam injection system—reached the ITER site on schedule at 3:00 a.m. on 17 September 2015.
December 2015
Adding its own lights to the Christmas ornaments, the three-trailer convoy transporting the first 60-degree segments of the ITER cryostat passes through the village of Saint-Paul-lez-Durance on 10 December 2015.
May 2018
A few hours before dawn on 30 May 2018, a convoy of three converter-transformers reaches the ITER site after three nights of travel along the 104-kilometre ITER Itinerary. The 90-tonne units were procured by Korea for ITER's magnet power conversion system.
March 2017
A segment of the cryostat lower cylinder passes the remnants of the old bridge of Mirabeau, built in 1847, that is just a few kilometres from the ITER site.