The project
Plant assembly
Everything outside of the Tokamak boundary falls into the category of "plant assembly"—including the installation of equipment and systems inside of the Tokamak Complex (pictured) as well as the more standard plant installation works in buildings across the ITER platform.
Gallery
New! Using augmented reality on the worksite
2025-03-25
New augmented reality software has been deployed at ITER that allows plant assembly engineers and technicians to compare, with a simple tablet or smartphone, the "as-built" position of components to the 3D plans. Savings in both cost and time are expected as issues can be more easily identified.
Equipping the control room
2025-03-18
30 operator stations in the ITER control room are now equipped with keyboards, mice and computer screens. This configuration will cover needs for the next seven to eight years.
First gyrotron sets
2024-11-19
On the south side of the Radiofrequency Building, a small team of technicians from GYCOM, the Russian gyrotron manufacturer, is at work installing cubicles and preparing the support structures and ancillaries for the first gyrotron set to be installed in the coming months.
Radiofrequency Building: adding equipment
2024-11-04
Inside the Radiofrequency Building, the main high voltage power supplies (delivered by Europe) occupy a large portion of the first level. The first wave-generating gyrotrons will be added soon.
Yellow busbars
2024-09-18
These electrical busbars, sized to deliver up to 70 kA of current, have been installed on ceiling supports in the Diagnostics Building at L5 level.
Busbar bridges, ready for equipment
2024-09-12
Two 50-metre-long ''busbar bridges'' span the distance between the Magnet Power Conversion buildings and the Tokamak Building to carry busbars and other electrical equipment. Installation works have begun.
Nearly 5 km of busbars
2024-09-04
Russia is supplying approximately five kilometres of DC busbars—amounting to 500 tonnes of material—for the power supply system of the superconducting magnets. Approximately 70% of the busbar lengths (402 out of 570) have been received on site.
Getting crowded
2024-09-04
A 1.5-tonne boomerang-shaped busbar destined for the central solenoid feeder system is installed in the Tokamak Building with the help of a small overhead crane.
Graphic ducts
2024-07-18
In the Fast Discharge & Switching Network Resistors Building, exhaust ducts are being connected to a central chimney. In the case of a quench, when superconducting magnets lose their superconductivity, excess energy is diverted here as a protective mechanism.
Plant components in the cryobridge
2024-02-14
In the completed cryobridge, teams are installing mechanical components like this segment of cryogenic line.
In the cryobridge
2024-02-14
A process line is installed in the bridge that connects the ITER cryoplant to the Tokamak Complex. Approximately five kilometres of cryolines are necessary to distribute gas and liquid helium to the different "clients".
Recouping energy from the cryoplant
2024-01-18
In the ITER cryoplant, 12 additional heat exchangers have been installed in the liquid helium plant to recover the heat generated by the helium compression process. (Three are pictured here.) This energy-saving initiative has been the beneficiary of an important financial subsidy from the French utility EDF.
Supplied by India, manufactured in Switzerland
2023-12-01
Pending their final installation, three auxiliary cold boxes—part of the cryogenic distribution system—have been pre-positioned in the Tokamak Building. Two others are expected next year. The components were procured by ITER India and designed and manufactured by Linde Kryotechnik AG in Switzerland.
First of five "auxiliary cold boxes"
2023-12-01
This 28-tonne "auxiliary cold box"—part of the distribution system for cryogenic fluids—is being transferred into the Assembly Hall for lifting.
Heading across
2023-12-01
The load is lifted by overhead crane from the truck bed and carried to the other end of the Assembly Hall, where it will be lifted over the wall.
Lowered through
2023-12-01
Near the machine assembly, a large opening permits access to the L3 level of the Tokamak Building.
Dispatchers
2023-12-01
Dozens of connections, large and small, protrude from the boiler-like component. Auxiliary cold boxes act like dispatchers, receiving the different fluids from the cryogenic termination cold box located inside the cryoplant and redistributing them throughout the ITER machine.
Up and over
2023-12-01
The auxiliary cold box is lifted over the wall into the Tokamak Building where it will be pre-positioned in a gallery at L3 level.
Little by little
2023-11-07
When all equipment is installed in the galleries of the Tokamak Complex, walking room will be tight!
The cold factory
2023-09-26
All equipment has been installed in the ITER cryoplant and commissioning is underway. The cryoplant will provide the extensive cryogenic power needed to cool the ITER magnets, thermal shield and cryopumps. Photo: ITER Organization/EJF Riche
Preparing for the Scientific Data and Computer Centre
2023-07-22
Cooling and electrical equipment has been installed outside of Headquarters for the ITER Scientific Data and Computer Centre. The Centre will handle a data load of 50 gigabyte per second during full deuterium-tritium operation.
Diagnostic port plugs: 1st units near completion
2023-06-19
Part of 23 vacuum vessel ports, " diagnostic port plug structures" will house diagnostics, integrated services, and other hardware. Two types are planned and the first units are coming off line.
Highlighting the imporance of vacuum systems
2023-05-31
The ITER vacuum team organizes regular workshops to highlight the criticality of vacuum standards and quality with technical responsible officers, quality assurance specialists, and resident inspectors working at ITER and in the Domestic Agencies.
Testing electronics for installation near the machine
2023-05-15
ITER has a new test facility installed in one of the Magnet Power Conversion buildings to test how electronics react to magnetic fields. Manufactured by ASIPP in China, the Static Magnetic Field Test Facility will test electronic and electromechanical components planned for installation near the machine.
Small but essential parts
2023-03-06
32 sets of cryojumpers—semi flexible cryogenic pipes that distribute gaseous and liquid helium from the cold valve boxes to the torus and cryostat cryopumps—have been delivered by the European Domestic Agency.
Step-by-step validation
2022-12-06
Plant commissioning is proceeding step by step, as individual cryoplant sub-systems are tested and validated.
Cold boxes
2022-12-06
One of three "cold boxes" in the cryoplant that will cool and liquefy the large volumes of helium needed by ITER's cryogenic "clients" (the magnets, thermal shield and cryopumps).
RF power supplies and transformers
2022-11-09
One of the two sets of high-voltage power supplies for the electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) system is already installed on the second floor of the Radio Frequency Building. The red cylinders are ~6MW cast-resin multi-secondary transformers that feed the power modules to the left (yellow).
Tokamak Building cryolines: 75% installed
2022-10-17
With the insertion of this massive elbow-shaped spool, total cryoline installation inside the Tokamak Building is now close to 75% complete. Inserted into a wall opening, the spool will connect the cryolines installed inside the building to those coming from the cryoplant along the elevated ''cryobridge.''
Not just pipes
2022-10-17
Procured by India, manufactured by INOX-CVA in India and Air Liquide in France, cryolines are more than just pipes: they are high-tech, vacuum-insulated components that, for the most complex of them, host several multi-process pipes transporting different cooling fluids in and out of the ITER Tokamak.
Manual alignment
2022-10-17
Whatever the size or weight of a cryoline spool, the most delicate sequences of final alignment are done manually. Here, an operator delicately guides the 5.5-tonne spool into the wall opening, whose diameter is only a few millimetres larger than that of the component.
A 90-minute operation
2022-10-17
Operating under the supervision of ITER Organization specialists Lahcene Benkheira and Adrien Forgeas, workers from contractors ENDEL, ORYS and Cryodiffusion finalized the complex operation in 90 minutes.
Heavy duty "shape sorter"
2022-10-17
At level 3 (L3) of the Tokamak Building, the teams are ready to play a heavy-duty version of "Shape Sorter": the cylindrical object to introduce in the circular opening measures 8 metres in length, 1 metre in diameter and weighs 5.5 tonnes.
Early installation for optical diagnostics
2022-03-31
Recently installed diagnostics supports at the L1 level of the Tokamak Building, showing some of the detail of how the supports are bolted to the ceiling by first welding threaded studs to steel plates embedded in the ceiling concrete. This allows for high accuracy in the installation of the optical beamlines.
"Hugging" the ceiling
2022-03-31
Supports installed on the ceiling in the B1 level of the Tokamak Building, showing the ''ceiling hugging'' nature, which keeps the diagnostic systems very close to the ceiling and above other installed equipment.
Diagnostics: installing captive components now
2022-03-31
Support elements for diagnostic pipes, cables and lines are received at the workshop of the installation contractor on the ITER site, before they are assembled and installed in the Tokamak Complex. Any captive components (soon to be boxed in by other systems or components) must be installed now.
ITER's largest warehouse
2022-02-03
The main ITER warehouse on site, where components are stored according to specific requirements such as temperature and humidity control. On average, four or five shipments arrive at the main warehouse each day.
Keeping track of all parts
2022-02-03
This small part, an elbow joint, must be manufactured, inspected, transported, received in an ITER warehouse, inspected again, logged into the system and finally stored before the time comes for it to be integrated into the ITER machine. ITER's Integrated Material & Logistics Management Group is currently managing the storage of 1.5 million parts and components.
Converter tests
2021-11-26
This Korean-built AC/DC converter is undergoing insultation voltage tests in one of the Magnet Power Conversion buildings.
Tanks galore
2021-11-25
Tanks line the exterior of the building. From left to right: one of two quench tanks; a 200,000-litre helium storage tank; atmospheric vaporizers; one out of two 80 K cold boxes (for the cooling of the cryostat shielding system); a vertical liquid nitrogen storage tank; and seven vertical tanks for nitrogen and helium storage.
5,000 tonnes of equipment
2021-11-25
As tall as a seven-storey building and covering the equivalent of two soccer fields, the ITER cryoplant is located south of the Tokamak Complex. The largest single-unit cryogenic installation in the world, it is tasked with a daunting mission: to provide cooling fluids to 10,000 tonnes of superconducting magnets, eight massive cryopumps, and thousands of square metres of thermal shielding. Approximately 5,000 tonnes of equipment have been installed and commissioning is about to start.
Cryoplant, from above
2021-11-25
Despite being water cooled, the large power machines inside the cryoplant will dissipate considerable amounts of heat (on the order of 20 MW). HVAC ducts on the building's roof are tasked with extracting it. The yellow elements at the top of this drone photograph are busbars feeding electrical power to the installation.
Different loops
2021-10-15
Cooling water circulates in the ITER installation in three separate loops: the tokamak loop, the auxiliary plant loop, and the balance of site. (Pictured in this photo is the loop #1 pumping station.)
Maximum flow
2021-10-15
At peak flow (during a plasma pulse) the cooling plant is designed to handle 7,700 cubic metres of water per second.
I&C
2021-10-15
The "E-house" is where signals from the cooling water plant are tied into the overall network of instrumentation and control for ITER, which is monitored from the ITER control room.
Large valves
2021-10-15
Valves like these control the flow of cooling water through the heat exchangers.
First client: the cryoplant
2021-10-15
The ITER cryoplant will be one of the first "clients" to require cooling water, which is why the cooling plant team has started commissioning that part of the plant first. Pictured, is the pumping station that will service the cryoplant.
Insulation
2021-10-15
Teams are completing the insulation of the pipes connecting 17 heat exchangers to the cooling water plant.
Chemistry matters
2021-10-15
The chemical injection system adds chemicals to the pipes and cooling towers to prevent scaling, bacteria and legionella from growing.
Cooling plant responsibilities
2021-10-15
The Indian Domestic Agency is responsible for the design and fabrication of the heat rejection system. The ITER Organization is responsible for equipment installation and system commissioning.
Cooling plant: nearly fully installed
2021-10-06
Equipment procured by India has been installed in the 6,000 m² cooling tower area on the northern corner of the ITER site, including heat exchangers (photo), chemical treatment equipment, pumps, piping and cooling towers.
Filling up
2021-09-29
Back in 2016 we published this GIF, showing how the galleries of the Tokamak Complex would fill up with equipment: /newsline/-/2570. Well, the reality corresponds to the plan... © Christian Luenig
Busbars above
2021-09-29
In the Diagnostic Building, the busbars share space near the ceiling with cable trays and pipes. © Christian Luenig (www.arbeitsblende.de)
Embedded plates, supporting equipment
2021-09-29
Ventilation, cable trays ... all equipment is soldered to metal plates that have been embedded in the floors, walls and ceilings of the Tokamak Complex. © Christian Luenig
Installed and protected
2021-09-29
This is the back end of a magnet feeder—a "coil termination box" that has been installed in the lowest level of the Tokamak Building and protected with plastic. © Christian Luenig
Yellow highways
2021-09-29
High-current busbars connect tokamak coils with their power supplies, thyristor converters, and powerful switching devices and resistors for the extraction of energy from the magnet system. © Christian Luenig
Cable tray supports
2021-09-25
Cable tray supports are welded to the embedded plates in the ceiling of the Tokamak Complex. Over 100,000 plates have been pre-positioned in the concrete in anticipation of systems installation.
Just tall enough
2021-06-16
This L3 gallery is just tall enough to permit the handling, by telescopic spider crane, of the 1.5-tonne, 11-metre-long spool. On 16 June it is inserted into the narrow ''south shaft'' connecting L3 to B2, which is designed to host this cryoline plus one other.
Vertical
2021-06-16
"Vertical cryolines" will connect the cryoline network in the basement (B2 level) with those on level L3. A first vertical spool is installed in the south shaft at L3 on 16 June.
Building the feeders, segment by segment
2021-04-14
This cryostat feedthrough is one of two feeder components introduced into the basement of the Tokamak Complex on 14 April. Called the STR3 feedthrough, it will supply supercritical helium at 4.5 K to the toroidal field coil cases and other coil structures (central solenoid, correction coils).
Just large enough
2021-04-14
This opening in the Tritium Building is just large enough for feeder elements to pass. This one (the coil termination box for poloidal coil #4 ) is 17 metres long.
Down the alley
2021-03-25
A large cryoline spool, with several process pipes inside its metal case, is transported along the cryoplant to be installed through the roof of the far end, near the Tokamak Building.
Yellow thruways
2021-03-25
DC busbars in the Magnet Power Conversion buildings start at the AC/DC converters and run all the way through the buildings, over a bridge, and through the Tokamak Complex to the superconducting magnets. They carry very high current (up to 70 kA). © Christian Luenig
Through the roof
2021-03-25
A massive steel structure supports the 6-tonne component that has come through the roof. It needs to be precisely aligned with the connections on top of the cryoplant's termination cold box.
Delivers helium
2021-03-25
The largest of the two spools installed on Thursday 25 March was 12 metres long, 1 metre in diameter and weighed 6 tonnes. It is tasked with delivering supercritical helium at 4.7 K (minus 269 °C) to the magnets.
Swaths of yellow
2021-03-25
Busbars in the Magnet Power Conversion buildings make a good backdrop for the artistic photos of (©) Christian Luenig
Dark grey elements
2021-03-25
The two elements in dark grey have now been installed. At the bottom, they connect to the cryoplant's termination cold box (which acts as a dispenser of cooling fluids). At the top, other spools will connect to carry the cooling fluids across a bridge to the Tokamak Building.
Carefully
2021-03-25
The cryoline spools are delicate pieces of high technology that can only tolerate a certain level of acceleration during transport and lift. Shock recorders allowed operators to control every step of the process.
The roof
2021-03-23
Behind each cylinder are powerful fan blades that will create an upward draft to cool the water released from the top. © Christian Luenig
Basins
2021-03-23
Below platform level, deep basins will receive the water coming in from different cooling circuits. © Christian Luenig
Mostly empty
2021-03-23
Under the cooling towers, once the water droplets have passed through a labyrinth of fill packs to cool, they fall back into the basins. The lower part of the cooling tower building is largely empty and open to the wind. © Christian Luenig
A field of pipes
2021-03-23
Pipes, pumps and heat exchangers are photographed from the top of the heat rejection system cooling towers. © Christian Luenig
Starting from the ceiling
2021-02-25
In the lower basement of the Tokamak Complex (level B2) the installation of equipment is progressing in a counter clockwise manner, room by room around the Tokamak assembly pit. © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
Busbars and more in the Tokamak Complex
2021-02-25
The installation of cryolines, cooling water lines, cable trays, heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, and busbars is underway. © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
A creature?
2021-02-04
More than 4.5 kilometres of cable galleries run underneath the ITER platform. In certain places, where the cables bend towards the surface, the impression is that of tentacles belonging to a creature lurking in the depths.
Cable pulling team
2021-02-04
Some 53 kilometres of 66 kV cables must be installed in the underground galleries of the ITER worksite to connect converters in the electrical switchyard to equipment inside the magnet power conversion buildings. This team from the Italian-Slovakian contractor Busbar4F is carrying out the work.
As thick as an arm
2021-02-04
Seven centimetres in diameter, the 66 kV cables transport 300 times the voltage of a standard household cord.
8 metres tall
2021-02-04
In this high-ceilinged space called "the cathedral," cable trays are installed nearly 8 metres high. From here, cables head in all directions, eventually reaching the four corners of the platform.
Elbow pipe
2021-02-02
An elbow pipe is installed in the exterior area of the cryoplant.
Installing equipment
2021-01-28
About 50 contractors are currently working under the Tokamak Complex assembly Contracts (TCC) and a Balance of Plant contract for multi-process lines. © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
Near the ceiling first
2020-12-22
Systems installation begins near the ceiling, on pre-installed trays and supports. © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
Anticipation
2020-12-17
The yellow busbars that cross the Diagnostics Building to provide power to the superconducting magnets cannot be re-routed. All other systems must be designed around this constraint and installed on supports welded to embedded plates on the walls and the ceiling.
Yellow busbars
2020-12-10
In the lowest basement level of the Diagnostics Building (B2), a labyrinth of busbars is being installed. Some five kilometres of these specialized power transfer devices will be needed to connect the magnets to the source of their power several hundred metres away.
Good progress
2020-12-09
n one of the twin Magnet Power Conversion buildings (B33), 100% of supports, busbars, links, and plates have been installed, together with cooling water hoses and junction boxes.
Connecting
2020-12-08
Here are the connection boxes between busbar lengths in the Magnet Power Conversion buildings.
The cryoplant's "cryogenic termination cold box"
2020-11-12
ITER technical responsible officer Hyun Sik Chang (right) and a technician from the Swiss company Linde Kryotechnik AG, perform the cleanliness check protocol on the multiprocess cryolines of the cryogenic termination cold box. This box collects the cooling fluids from the cryoplant and redirects them to the Tokamak Building over an elevated bridge.
Connecting busbars
2020-11-09
Part of the work to install several kilometres of busbars between the Magnet Power Conversion facilities and the ITER magnets, is the interconnection that joins two busbar lengths.
Piping interconnections
2020-11-03
In the Cryoplant Building, a welder complete the first cryoline piping interconnection on the liquid helium plant cold box.
A novel technique for a novel environment
2020-10-26
ITER is working with "augmented reality" to plan for, and visualize, complex installation and maintenance tasks in crowded environments. The novel technique is the fruit of a collaboration between the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and the ITER Organization.
Night shift
2020-10-15
One of the challenges of the plant assembly project is coordinating the different actors with activities in the same areas. At this coordination meeting, we can identify some of the participants by the colour of the hardhats—green for safety agents, red for foremen/women and supervisors, and white for workers.
Full
2020-10-14
After one week the heat rejection basins were full and detailed investigations could begin.
Testing the basins
2020-10-14
The heat rejection system team begins a week-long "fill test" for the cold and hot basis of the cooling tower area. From this temporary control room, the level of the water can be monitored.
Inside and out
2020-10-09
The equipment inside and outside of the conversion buildings is dedicated to the ITER superconducting magnets, which require power at DC voltages between 0.10 kV and 1.35 kV, depending on their size. © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
Measuring the current
2020-10-05
Arranged in three sets, there are 39 of these "current transformers" in the one-hectare Reactive Power Compensators Area (A39). Despite their name, they can be described as sensors that monitor the variations of the current.
Thyristor alley
2020-10-04
Nine thyristors (3 metres tall and weighing over 2 tonnes each) are hosted inside the Reactive Power Control Building on the ITER site. Thyristors are power electronic devices that act like switches. ITER Organization contractors Consortium Fincantieri SI and SAET have now finalized 80% of the installation.
Towers
2020-10-04
These 8-metre-tall tower-like structures are thyristor-controlled reactors. Directly connected to the thyristors inside the Reactive Power Control Building to the right, their function is to smooth the sine wave of the AC current, filtering out distortions.
A new feeder element
2020-10-01
A feeder element newly arrived from China is stored on site prior to installation. (Magnet feeders carry electricity and cryogens to the superconducting magnets.)
Backfilling penetrations
2020-09-26
Some 4,600 penetrations, or openings, will provide passage for pipes, cables, diagnostics and HVAC equipment between the rooms and buildings of the Tokamak Complex. The example in this photo illustrates how the penetrations must be backfilled with concrete, while providing passageway for in/out cooling water pipes.
A welding bubble
2020-09-24
This worker is welding a steel pipe to its concrete passageway. One of the machine's magnet feeders will pass through this tunnel on its way to supply magnets with power and liquid helium.
Overhead
2020-09-10
In the Diagnostics Building, teams are bolting the busbars to supports anchored in the ceiling. The environment is already crowded with cable trays and all sorts of piping and HVAC ducts.
Precision work
2020-09-10
Once bolted to their supports, the busbar lengths must be connected to one another and to cooling water collectors. Hose connections must be installed before the whole system can be tested and commissioned.
Weighty components
2020-09-10
Individual busbar segments are sometimes very long (up to 12 metres) and quite heavy, ranging from 2 to 4 tonnes in weight.
Forklifts and pulleys
2020-09-10
Moving and adjusting the beams into position is a delicate operation that requires the coordinated movements of forklifts and pulley systems before they can be manually bolted to their supports.
"Power cords" thicker than train rails
2020-09-09
Originating in the Magnet Power Conversion buildings (as seen here), busbars will travel over bridges to the Tokamak Complex to deliver power to the superconducting magnets. These train-rail-sized bars can carry current 7,000 times more intense than a heavy-duty electrical cable.
All about busbars
2020-09-04
The interior of the Magnet Power Conversion buildings resembles a busbar forest. Busbar lengths are now being installed in the Tokamak Complex; in the year ahead, a bridge between the two buildings will be realized and the different lengths connected.
First busbars in Tokamak Complex
2020-09-03
The first magnet busbars are being installed among cable trays and other equipment on the ceiling of this Tokamak Complex gallery. Each length weighs between 2 and 4 tonnes.
Room for manoeuvre
2020-09-03
Moving a busbar into place in the Diagnostics Building. Equipment installation is underway in the higher areas first (the ceiling) in carefully coordinated sequences so that each piece fits without having to alter what is already installed.
Converter arrives from Korea
2020-09-02
In one of the Magnet Power Conversion buildings, a converter bridge has arrived from Korea. The converter changes the power from AC to DC before being supplied to the central solenoid.
On the roof of the cooling tower building
2020-08-24
Vibration testing is underway on the cooling towers.
2020-08-12
Contractors charged with the installation of DC busbars, switching networks and fast discharge units (Balance of Plant Group 5) have spent the last months training for the work they will carry out on site. Here, members of the team lift a high voltage insulator onto a cable termination.
One of the last giants
2020-06-02
One of the last large components enters the ITER cryoplant: a 56-tonne helium dryer.
As dry as 'He' can get
2020-05-27
Cold boxes do not like water. Before it is processed, gaseous helium needs to be perfectly dry to prevent damage. This crucial operation is the task of a 56-tonne ''helium dryer'' that was installed in the cryoplant on 27 May.
Welding equipment supports
2020-05-15
In the vast galleries of the Tokamak Complex on every level, ten of thousands of steel plates have been embedded into the floors, ceilings and walls. Now we see why: all equipment, like these cable tray supports, has to be welded to these plates to avoid drilling into the concrete (which is forbidden in a nuclear building). © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
Deep in the Tokamak Complex
2020-05-13
Welding the pipes inside the multi-process cryolines is a challenging operation, sometimes performed in an extremely cramped environment.
500 sections of cryolines to connect
2020-05-13
Prior to welding cryoline sections, process pipes that transport the cooling fluid need to be cut and surfaced for optimal adjustment.
10t of water per second
2020-01-22
Thirteen large vertical turbine pumps (in blue), each one powered by a 870 kW motor and capable of moving 10 tonnes of water per second, circulate water throughout the heat rejection system.
Next step: large fans
2020-01-22
At the top of the building each cooling cell is topped by a "fan cylinder." Once installed, the twelve-blade fans will induce an upward draft.
Fill packs
2020-01-22
Inside each cooling cell, stacked layers of millimetre-thick corrugated plastic sheet (''fill pack'') act like the honeycomb structure of a car radiator. (Look closely at the black ''floor.'')
Progressing well
2020-01-16
Busbars leave the Magnet Power Conversion buildings by overhead pass and cross through the Diagnostics Building to reach the magnets. Some 89% of busbar supports and 76% of planned busbars in the Diagnostics Building have been installed by assembly contractors.
Utmost precision
2020-01-16
In the densely packed environment of the buildings, laser measurement ensures that each component—whether busbar, converter or reactor—is set into place with utmost precision.
Elevated busbars
2020-01-16
Thicker than railroad rails, steel-jacketed DC busbars are actively cooled by a constant flow of pressurized water. As many as 5 kilometres of busbars supplied by Russia will be installed, including these running half the length of the Magnet Power Conversion buildings on elevated supports.
A five-kilometre network
2020-01-16
Five kilometres of actively cooled aluminium busbars, procured by Russia, run through the twin conversion buildings. Busbars carry the high-intensity DC current that is fed to the ITER magnetic system.
Smoothing the currant
2020-01-16
This strange contraption that looks like a giant vintage seismograph is a "reactor." Its function is to create a magnetic field that filters the small spikes in DC waveform before it is fed to the magnetic system. Korea and China are sharing procurement of the 31 reactors, each coupled with a converter or set of converters, that the system requires.
65,000 amps
2020-01-16
High-intensity current (65,000 amps) is fed to the toroidal field coils through a double set of busbars (right). The simple set of busbars to the left is for a poloidal field coil that requires "only" 55,000 amps. Just like in daily life, DC outlet busbars have a positive and a negative polarity.
Exterior bays
2020-01-16
Two transformers procured by Korea and China are shown outside. Depending on which "client" they serve, the transformers step down AC power from 66 kV or 22 kV to 1 kV AC. The currant then enters the building along AC busbars that connect the transformers to AC/DC converters.
Fresh from Russia
2020-01-16
Workers unpack a section of DC busbar that has just been delivered from Russia. The contorted shape reflects the complexity of connections in some areas of the buildings. This section is a vertical interface for a correction coil converter. Busbar installation is 92 percent complete in the first Magnet Power Conversion building, and 72 percent complete in the other.
Site south
2020-01-08
Much of the central area of the platform is dedicated to electrical power, with two identical buildings for magnet power conversion (centre), a small facility for reactive power compensation (further along to the right) and as yet unbuilt structures to house the neutral beam power supplies. Also visible is the European magnet winding facility (far left) and the ITER cryoplant (left).
Installation of cooling fans
2019-12-16
Ten 16 x 16-metre cooling cells will receive water from the hot basin and discharge it—once cooled—to the cold basin. Each cell is filled with hundreds of layers of corrugated plastic fill and equipped with a large fan (installation underway at the top of the building) that pulls air upward.
Power Supplies Distribution Building
2019-10-15
The Power Supplies Distribution Building is handed over by the European Domestic Agency to the ITER Organization in October. The equipment will contribute to distributing the current for activities across the worksite. ©F4E
Busbars galore
2019-10-11
Inside of the Magnet Power Conversion buildings, contractors are installing the first busbars. Approximately five kilometres of large, aluminium, water-cooled DC busbars connect the power converters to the magnets feeders.
First cryolines in Tokamak Complex
2019-10-02
The cooling fluids produced by the cryoplant reach their ''clients'' in the ITER Tokamak by way of cryolines—high-technology components manufactured under Indian Domestic Agency contract partly in India and partly in France.
Joining two lines
2019-10-02
This technician is joining two lengths of cryogenic line inside of the Tokamak Complex. Each "pipe" can contain up to seven individual lines.
Inside the cold factory
2019-09-23
As large as two football pitches, the ITER cryoplant provides cooling fluids to 10,000 tonnes of superconducting magnets, eight massive cryopumps, and thousands of square metres of thermal shielding. Approximately 50% of equipment has been installed.
Seven kilometres of pipes
2019-09-23
Approximately seven kilometres of pipes run through the installation, carrying helium, nitrogen and cooling water for the compressors and other equipment. Cooling water circulation in the cryoplant is in the range of 2,500 cubic metres per hour—the equivalent of an Olympic pool every 30 minutes.
10-metre-long shafts
2019-09-23
In the heat rejection zone, 13 vertical turbine pumps will take cooling water from deep in the hot basins and circulate it either to the cold basin, or through the installation's heat exchangers. The shafts, pictured, connect the rotor (impeller) to the motor.
Pumping up
2019-09-04
ITER Organization contractors are managing equipment installation in the cooling tower zone. The infrastructure of the zone was provided by Europe; the design and fabrication of heat rejection equipment is part of India's procurement contributions to the ITER Project.
Reactive power compensation
2019-08-28
These alien-looking objects are harmonic filters, part of ITER's reactive power compensation and harmonic filtering system. This unique system is responsible for fast-acting reactive power compensation on the high-voltage electricity transmission network, in order to stabilize the power grid and provide the required quality of electrical power to operate ITER. © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
The view late August 2019
2019-08-28
Looking south over the Poloidal Field Coils Winding Facility (red top), the ITER cryoplant, and one of the two buildings for magnet power conversion. © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
Pump station 1
2019-08-07
Equipment provided by India has been installed in one of the two pump stations planned for the heat rejection system.
Bridges planned
2019-06-17
The central area of the ITER construction houses facilities for magnet power conversion (two buildings, left) and cryogenics (right). Overhead bridges will be installed between these buildings and the Tokamak Complex (grey concrete) for the transport of power and cryogens like liquid helium. Photo: ITER Organization/EJF Riche
Site services building: all equipment installed
2019-05-27
Demineralized water, chilled air, cooling water, compressed air—these industrial services will be distributed throughout the plant from the Site Services Building. All equipment has been installed and will be maintained in a state of readiness for the first commissioning activities.
Magnet Power Conversion buildings: equipment is arriving
2019-05-20
Now that the civil work on the twin Magnet Power Conversion buildings is nearly completed, the installation of equipment can begin. Equipment is expected from China, Korea and Russia.
Transformer Street
2019-05-20
Out of a total of 32 transformers, 30 have already been delivered to ITER from China and Korea. In this photo, Chinese transformers are being installed in their dedicated bays outside of one of the twin Magnet Power Conversion buildings.
Three plant buildings handed over
2019-03-29
The European Domestic Agency Fusion for Energy hands over three completed buildings to the ITER Organization in March: the twin Magnet Power Conversion buildings and a smaller facility for reactive power compensation. Equipment installation can now begin.
Outside the cryoplant
2019-03-01
This complex set of hand valves and local readings of pressure, temperature and flow is part of the cooling loop that maintains the temperature inside the cryoplant's quench tanks at 100 K.
Construction completed on the cooling tower zone
2018-12-21
The handover of the cooling tower zone from the European Domestic Agency to the ITER Organization takes place on 21 December 2018. The infrastructure is ready; now the ITER team will supervise the installation of equipment sent by the Indian Domestic Agency.
Ready to serve the installation in 2019
2018-12-12
Installation works in the Site Services Building have been completed on time, despite a complicated context of limited space, numerous interfaces and coordination. Eight 25-tonne chillers are installed at right (plus their soft starters in yellow).
An unassuming name, a strategic building
2018-12-12
Despite a rather unassuming name, the Site Services Building is a strategic resource for the entire installation, accommodating and distributing a large number of industrial support services and systems. All mechanical and electrical equipment (pumps, chillers, pressurizers, cabinets and chemical dosing systems) and relevant piping has been installed, and a series of hydrostatic tests have been completed successfully.
Important arteries
2018-12-03
Cable drums are lined up outside of the ITER cryoplant, where tray laying and cable pulling activities are about to start. A total of 10,000 kilometres of cables will be needed at ITER to connect components, provide power and transmit data.
A special kind of house
2018-11-22
This "electrical house" (E-houses) will accommodate dozens of instrumentation and control cubicles that relay orders from the control room to the installation's high voltage components. In November is transported to its final platform location.
Piping from India
2018-10-03
India is sending over 100 containers of piping for the component cooling water, chilled water and heat rejection systems. Spool assembly is one of the major installation activities on site. © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
Cryoplant gas storage
2018-07-24
Outside storage tanks have been installed in the cryoplant area for gaseous and liquid cryogens. Photo: ITER Organization/EJF Riche
Nitrogen as a pre-cooler for liquid helium
2018-07-17
For the nitrogen plant, the first phase of centrifugal compressor installation was achieved this month.
First industrial plant on site
2018-07-17
The ITER cryoplant used to be a vast echoey chamber with 5,400 m² of interior space divided into two areas; now, it is filled from floor to ceiling with industrial equipment.
The world's largest single-platform cryoplant
2018-07-17
The world's largest single-platform cryoplant Three parties are sharing responsibility for the plant's procurement: the ITER Organization, responsible for the liquid helium plants; Europe, in charge of the liquid nitrogen plant and auxiliary systems as well as the construction of the cryoplant infrastructure on site; and India, whose contractors are procuring the cryolines and cryodistribution components. The ITER Organization is managing installation works.
Changing platform
2018-02-20
Four gaseous helium storage tanks procured by Europe have been installed near the cryoplant. © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
Deliveries
2017-12-20
Equipment is delivered to the Compressor Building in December. © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
Skids positionned
2017-11-17
All 18 helium compressor skids have been positioned on their concrete platforms in the cryoplant's Compressor Building.
Transformer row
2017-08-29
In this picture, four transformers for the steady state electrical network are followed by three larger transformers for the pulsed power electrical network. The first group was procured by the United States; the second group was procured by China. © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
Services on site
2017-08-17
The Site Services Building will accommodate a large chiller plant, a demineralized water plant and other industrial services. These pipes will help carry the chilled or demineralized water where it's needed.
Pipes and elbows
2017-07-13
These supersize pipes (one metre and more in diameter) for the heat rejection system are designed for a flow rate of two cubic metres per second.
Buried piping
2017-06-28
Water will travel out of the cooling water loops of the Tokamak and its systems, through these 1.6-metre-in-diameter pipes, and on to the heat rejection system. © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
Celebrating a Council milestone
2017-06-22
Celebrating a Council milestone In the presence of ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot and his two deputies, Chief Operating Officer Gyung-Su Lee and Relations Coordinating Officer Eisuke Tada, the team responsible for cold box installation celebrates the respect of an ITER Council milestone that scheduled the "Start of installation work in the cryoplant" for June 2017.
2017-04-27
Pre-welding operations on cooling water piping in April. © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
E-houses installed
2017-03-22
Two E-houses for the pulsed power electrical network are now installed on site. © Les Nouveaux Médias/SNC ENGAGE
Seen from the sky
The organization of the ITER worksite into assembly zones, as seen from above.
5
km cryolines
5000
km cables
40
km cooling water piping
170
local control systems
Related videos
5:27
24 MAR 2025
MACHINE ASSEMBLY
Augmented reality and plant installation (video)
4:36
30 MAY 2023
DRONE VIDEOS
ITER by drone - latest update
2:52
11 JUL 2022
ITER TECHNOLOGY
Going deeper and deeper into virtual reality
3:05
15 MAY 2018
ITER TECHNOLOGY
ITER's cryogenic system (Air Liquide)
Contractors carrying out the day-to-day work under the oversight of the ITER Organization:
TCC/1
Tokamak Complex Contract 1: Fincantieri Consortium (Fincantieri S.p.A., Fincantieri SI S.p.A., Delta-ti Impianti S.p.A., Comes S.p.A.) For the installation of heating and current drive, diagnostics, fuelling, secondary cooling, and vacuum components.
TCC/2
Tokamak Complex Contract 2: META SNC (Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios SA, and Empresarios Agrupados Internacional SA.) For the installation of primary machine cooling water, test blanket module equipment, some vacuum pipework, vacuum vessel pressure suppression.
BALANCE OF PLANT
Work on the platform has been divided into these contracts: Group 1 - equipment installation in the Magnet Power Conversion buildings; Group 2 - installation of cooling water plant; Group 3 - electrical distribution; Group 4 - installation of multi-process lines; Group 5 - installation of DC busbars, switching networks and fast discharge units; Group 6 - installation of converters, transformers, reactive power compensation units, and harmonic filters.
