How do you make a "circular plasma device" produce a "D-shaped" plasma like ITER's? The WEST project is answering this question by inserting additional coils inside the vacuum vessel of the CEA-Euratom tokamak Tore Supra, including a few very compact ones inside of the newly added tungsten divertor. Click to see pictures of the latest installation work at Tore Supra-WEST. © CEA-IRFM-Christophe ROUX

Producing ITER's ring-shaped poloidal field magnets is a multi-stage process requiring at least 18 months per coil. Lengths of niobium-titanium (NbTi) superconductor are progressively wound into flat, spiralled coils called double pancakes, impregnated with resin, and finally stacked and assembled to form finished magnets that weigh between 200 and 400 tonnes. The European Domestic Agency completed an on-site manufacturing facility in 2012 for the fabrication of the largest poloidal field coils and, today, the building is being progressively equipped with the handling and tooling equipment required for the first qualification activities to get underway in mid-2016. From a contractual point of view, six work packages will cover the full process of poloidal field coil fabrication, including overall engineering integration, tooling, site and infrastructure management, manufacturing, and cold testing. Contracts signed to date by the European Domestic Agency include those for winding tooling (SEA ALP Italy), site and infrastructure (Dalkia-Veolia France), engineering integration (ASG Superconductors, Italy) and, in the latest news, the contract for the supply of handling and impregnation tooling. This 3D image shows the type of gantry crane that will be used to support loads of 400 tons. © Elytt Energy Impregnation is the step in fabrication that intervenes after the conductor has been wound and insulated. The double pancakes are lowered by crane into moulds for vacuum pressure impregnation (VPI) with epoxy resin. Under the effect of heat, the resin bonds each double pancake into a rigid assembly. The contract signed between the European agency and a consortium formed by Elytt Energy and Alsymex (Alsyom and SEIV) includes the design and manufacturing studies, fabrication, and on-site assembly, commissioning and testing of the impregnation equipment. Handling equipment is also included in the scope of the contract, such as specialized equipment to lift, insulate and stack the pancake layers, a gantry crane with a load capacity of 400 tonnes, and assembly stations. Read the original article on the European Domestic Agency website.

Assembly operations are progressing on JT-60 SA. In December 2015, the final 20° Vacuum Vessel sector was inserted into the opening of the 340° torus to measure the gaps between the 340° and 20° sectors for the later welding. The operation provided with a brief vision of the completed donut-shaped 360° Vacuum Vessel. JT-60SA is a fusion experiment designed to support the operation of ITER and to investigate how best to optimize the operation of fusion power plants that are built after ITER. It is a joint international research and development project involving Japan and Europe, using infrastructure of the existing JT-60 Upgrade experiment. SA stands for "super, advanced", since the experiment will have superconducting coils and study advanced modes of plasma operation. This satellite tokamak program was established in 1997 as one of three joint projects between Europe and Japan within the Broader Approach Agreement.

Construction of the Materials Research Facility (MRF) at Culham is complete and the building has already hosted its first experiments. The MRF has been established to analyse material properties in support of both fission and fusion research. It will benefit university and industry users working on micro-characterisation of nuclear materials. It is part of the National Nuclear User Facility (NNUF) initiative, launched by the Government and funded by EPSRC, to set up a multi-site facility giving UK academia and industry access to internationally-leading experimental equipment On Friday 12 February, the keys to the building were formally handed over by David Wilde, construction site manager for contractors E G Carter, to Martin O'Brien and James Treadgold of the UK Atomic Energy Authority. Read more on CCFE website. Read here: "Why is metallurgy so important for fusion's future?"

Interaction with industry is essential to ITER success. In 2008, the European Domestic Agency established a network of Industrial Liaison Officers (ILOs) entrusted with a strategic mission: to raise industry awareness about ITER work packages, needs and tender procedures. For the past seven years, the 20-person-strong European ILO network has also played a key role in fostering partnerships between industrial companies in order to make strong technical and commercial bids adapted to the project's specific demands. In 2015, a proposition to extend the ILO concept to the other ITER Members resulted in an invitation to Domestic Agency Heads to nominate an ILO. Japan was among the first to answer the call. Earlier this month, Yoshihiko Nunoya, an engineer with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, took up his duties as the first non-European ILO. It is expected that a global ILO network will be fully established by the end of the year.  From left to right: Setsuko Moriyama, ITER Project Integration and Support Group; Yoshinori Kusama, Head of the Japanese Domestic Agency; Jennifer Hayashi, ITER Project Management Group, JAEA;Takashi Inoue, Deputy Head, ITER Project division, JAEA  and Yoshihiko Nunoya, Group leader of JAEA;s ITER Project Management Group and recently appointed Industrial Liaison Officer.