To initiate and maintain plasma current, ITER requires a giant solenoid—which will be the largest pulsed electromagnet ever built. The 1,000-metric-ton solenoid located in the centre of the ITER Tokamak will have 5.5 gigajoules of stored energy and be about 18 metres, or 60 feet, tall.   The Oak Ridge National Laboratory US ITER team leading central solenoid development and fabrication has developed a firm basis for the design and achieved a number of key milestones in the last six months, including a final design review in December 2013. Authorization to proceed to manufacturing is expected in May 2014 from the project's coordinating body, the ITER Organization.   "The central solenoid development has followed a unique process," said David Everitt, the central solenoid system manager. "We brought the fabricator, General Atomics in San Diego, on board early to help with manufacturing review and development. As the central solenoid design progressed, the fabricator has been taking our design, prototyping it and providing feedback."   That approach has helped US ITER resolve a number of engineering challenges. Not only is the central solenoid unusually large and powerful, but it also is tightly integrated into the ITER magnet system.   ITER uses a magnetic confinement approach to contain 100-million-degree-Celsius plasmas within carefully defined magnetic fields. In some locations, there will be only 10 mm of space—the width of a thick pencil—between the massive central solenoid and a 13 metre, or 45 foot, tall "D"-shaped toroidal field magnet.   Wayne Reiersen, the US ITER magnet systems team leader, noted The 1,000-tonne solenoid located in the centre of the ITER tokamak will have 5.5 gigajoules of stored energy and be about 18 metres, or 60 feet, tall. that "the actions proposed in the final design review report are thoughtful and provide us with excellent feedback on the central solenoid design and path forward. We will really benefit from this review." Overall, the final design review confirmed that the central solenoid design is well supported by analysis and by research and development. The solenoid will be composed of six stacked modules, each made of conductor wound into pancake-like layers. An individual module weighs more than 110 metric tons. The manufacturing process for the modules of the central solenoid will take 16—24 months per module. Each module, plus a spare, must be fabricated and tested at full current, 45 kA, and 4 degrees Kelvin, or about minus 269 degrees C, to ensure that the magnets are ready to perform in the superconducting environment of the ITER machine. The modules will be fabricated with a just-in-time process. As each shipment of conductor is received, it will immediately enter the winding station to be formed into pancakes. The module fabrication process culminates approximately two years later when the module passes final testing and is shipped to France. Everitt added, "Building the central solenoid is all about timing. At any one time, we can have four or five modules moving through the production process." A central solenoid mock-up module, which will verify the production process, is planned for completion in summer 2015, with sample conductor winding activities beginning in summer 2014. The mock-up module will be made at 40 percent of the actual ITER module height and will not be superconducting. The mock-up is a way to commission the central solenoid work stations, the insulation method and the overall process. All of the modules are scheduled for completion by February 2019 to meet the international ITER schedule. 

As Director-General of the French police force, Claude Baland oversees more than 145,000 active police officers throughout the national territory.   "I've been following the ITER Project closely for many years," he said after having visited the worksite on Thursday, 20 February. "It is a beautiful venture and it was very important for me to see it with my own eyes and take in its actual physical dimension."   Mr Baland's interest in ITER is not that of a national police chief only. As a geography professor, his original profession, he confides that he is fascinated by issues such as how ITER fits into its surrounding territory; what kind of cultural interaction the project generates within its local environment; and what kind of professional, social and cultural practices men and women coming from 35 nations develop.   ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima, Deputy Director-General Carlos Alejaldre and members of the Department for Safety, Quality & Security happily responded to these questions.   Although he is a very busy man, the Director-General of the French police force confided that he would gladly apply for an internship at ITER, if he had more time.

With an enrollment of close to 40,000 students, Politecnico di Milano is the largest technical university and engineering school in Italy.The Politecnico designed and operated the country's first nuclear research reactor in the late 1950s and has since accumulated a large expertise in nuclear-related technologies.A recently built, state-of-the-art laboratory will enable Politecnico scientists and students to access the most technologically advanced equipment. And this of course, is of interest to ITER...On 21 January the Rector of Politecnico di Milano, Giovanni Azzone, and the Director-General of the ITER Organization, Osamu Motojima, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote cooperation and exchange between the two institutions.Potential areas of collaboration include the joint supervision of MsC or PhD theses; joint training and collaboration of young scientists and engineers; the exchange of technical and scientific data; joint research projects, particularly in the field of cryogenics,  and electrical and nuclear engineering."It is a great opportunity for both our institutions," says the head of the ITER Central Engineering and Plant Directorate Sergio Orlandi. "What is at stake, beyond the technical and scientific cooperation aspects, is the creation of a new, strong generation for fusion."In the field of cryogenics, for instance, cooperation with Politecnico di Milano should be extremely fruitful. "Cryogenics knowledge is not generated by universities," stresses Sergio. "When you need experts for ITER, you hire them from CERN, Air Liquide or other private companies... We need to develop academic studies in cryogenics in order to answer the needs of fusion research and, ultimately, industry."

Following the successful commissioning of the ITER power supply test facility at the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP) last December, another exciting step forward has been made in the procurement of ITER's poloidal field converters. The short circuit tests on the ITER poloidal field converter bridges and external bypass were accomplished successfully on 8 January 2014. In a series of stringent tests, partially witnessed by technical staff from the ITER Organization and the Chinese Domestic Agency, the soundness of the design and manufacture of these key components was demonstrated. The positive test results achieved in December and January have demonstrated that the components fully meet the design requirements for the poloidal field converters. (Pictured: the external bypass.) These tests included the short circuit withstand test, the dynamic current balance test, the prospective fault current test with the intervention of electronic protection, the FSC test with the intervention of electronic protection, and the FSC test without the intervention of electronic protection. The novelty of the component design created specific requirements, far different from similar tests performed in the past. The series tests were characterized by high test current (up to 430 kA) and complicated prospective waveform. Efforts from the engineers from the AC/DC converter team at ITER China resulted in the successful conclusion of all required type tests. These positive test results—which demonstrate that manufacturing can fully meet the design requirements of the ITER poloidal field converters—pave the way for series production to begin.

With representatives from the seven ITER Members gathered for last week's extraordinary ITER Council meeting, it was the perfect opportunity to finalize the signatures on four agreements, each one representing a step forward in ITER Construction.The first agreement signed increases ITER Organization property by 10 hectares. When the ITER Organization and the Host Organization CEA signed the Site Support Agreement in November 2009 it was specified that "... the Host Organization shall make available through a specific act to the ITER Organization an area of land," consisting of approximately 181 hectares. On 6 July 2010, around 100 of the 181 hectares were transferred the ITER Organization by notarial deed. This year the ITER Organization requested the transfer of a second portion of land from CEA—approximately 10 hectares—in order to prepare a storage/logistics platform for the storage of ITER components as well as for the unpacking and repacking necessary for assembly activities.The second agreement marks the kick-off for the design and procurement of the first Test Blanket System, a vital step on the way to tritium self-sufficiency. A reliable and efficient "breeder blanket" technology will be necessary for heat transfer and fuel generation in future fusion power plants and ITER will provide a unique opportunity to test the mockups of these breeding blankets, called Test Blanket Systems, in a real fusion environment. Among the key milestones along the road to procurement are the signing of six specific TBM Arrangements that correspond to the formal implementation of six Test Blanket Systems in ITER. An agreement was reached on the supply of materials for the ITER plant's steady state electrical network. (Pictured, Director-General Motojima and the head of the US ITER Project Office, Ned Sauthoff.) Almost 20 years after the establishment of a first ITER Test Blanket Working Group, and not quite two years after the endorsement of the generic TBM Arrangement by the ITER Council, the ITER Organization and the Chinese Domestic Agency signed an arrangement last week for the design, manufacturing, transport and delivery of a Helium-Cooled Ceramic Breeder test blanket system to the ITER site by 2021. This is the first of six TBM Arrangements expected be signed in the course of the year.Also signed last week was a Procurement Arrangement with the Russian Domestic Agency for the enhanced heat flux first wall panels for the ITER Blanket System. The signature opens the way for the fabrication of these key components that, as they directly face the plasma, will have to withstand the highest heat flux of the machine (up to 4.7 MW/m2). The Russian Domestic Agency will procure 171 enhanced heat flux first wall panels (plus 8 spares), for installation in the upper and outboard regions of the vacuum vessel. As the first Procurement Arrangement signed for blanket first wall panels, this was a milestone event; two further Procurement Arrangements for this system will be signed in 2015 with China (for the remaining enhanced heat flux first wall panels) and Europe (for the normal heat flux panels). The head of the Chinese Domestic Agency, Luo Delong, and Director-General Motojima sign the first of six Test Blanket Module Arrangements for the design and procurement of the Test Blanket System. Finally, a document was signed with the United States relative to the supply of materials for the ITER plant's steady state electrical network (400 kV gantries for the overhead lines of the steady state electrical network and metal structures to support the 400kV electrical equipment gantries and structures). Although the provision of this equipment had originally been assigned to the United States, it was later agreed by all parties that there were advantages to procuring the same gantry and structures as those used by the French electricity transmission network RTE for the Prionnet substation. As of last week's agreement, the scope has been transferred to the ITER Organization. 

​On a warm sunny afternoon last week, ITER welcomed its very own telecommunication pylon which proudly stands 35 metres high beside the Visitors Centre. It's been equipped with 2G and 3G technologies with scope for 4G technology in the near future. SFR antennas at the top of this pylon cover the whole ITER site. Negotiations to bring in another carrier will take place at the end of this year and if everything falls into place, Orange soon will be seen sharing this telecommunication pylon along with SFR. 

The 28th Symposium on Fusion Technology (SOFT) will take place from 29 September to 3 October in San Sebastian, Spain, organized by CIEMAT, the Spanish Research Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology.Considered the top event for the exchange of information on the design, construction and operation of fusion experiments and on the technology for present fusion machines and future power plants, over 800 scientists and engineers working in the field are expected.The deadline for abstract submission is 18 March. Registration is currently open for industrial exhibitors.

​Ravi B. Grover, head of the Indian delegation to the ITER Council, was honoured by the Government of India on the occasion of Republic Day (26 January 2014) with the fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri. Dr Grover is the principal adviser of the Department of Atomic Energy in India, a member of the Atomic Energy Commission, and director of the Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI).He played a pivotal role during negotiations with various governments and the IAEA towards opening international civil nuclear trade between India and other countries. He also played a key role in the negotiations leading up to India joining the ITER Project as a full partner in 2005. He conceptualized and set up the HBNI as a university-level institution.The ITER community congratulates Dr Grover on his distinguished award.