Successful test of the ITER Itinerary

The 46-metre-long trailer, with its dummy load of 360 concrete blocks, was escorted by a large squadron of police officers and followed by support vehicles and technical personnel. It had completed the journey from Berre L’Etang near the Mediterranean Sea to the ITER site over four nights. 

The most difficult passage, technically, was the stage between the A51 motorway and the departmental road D952, where the convoy had to make a steep climb to bypass the motorway tunnel. ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima, who accompanied the convoy throughout the last night of the test campaign, commented, “At 2:26 a.m. I could see the light of the ITER site beyond Saint Paul-lez Durance from this point in the Itinerary. I knew then that the test convoy would be successful.” 

Large-scale public works were carried out by France as Host to the ITER Project along the 104 kilometres of the ITER Itinerary between 2008 and 2011 to widen roads, replace or reinforce bridges and modify intersections in preparation for the exceptional size and weight of some of the ITER components. 

The test campaign was conceived to monitor key points along the Itinerary. Measurements collected as the convoy passed over bridges and negotiated its way through towns and intersections will be carefully analyzed in the weeks to come. But already, the Itinerary has demonstrated its conformity with the rigorous technical specifications of ITER’s most exceptional loads. 

Organized by Agence Iter France in close collaboration with French authorities; implemented by ITER’s global logistics service provider DAHER; and financed by the European Domestic Agency for ITER, Fusion for Energy, the test mockup simultaneously replicates the largest and the heaviest of the actual loads that will be transported for ITER: 600 metric tons (plus the 185-metric-ton trailer), 33 metres long, 9 metres wide and 10 metres tall. 

For the ITER Organization—responsible for the construction and operation of ITER—the successful arrival of the Itinerary test convoy is a major milestone. 

The validation of the Itinerary will open the way for the transport of the completed ITER components. Fabricated on three continents by the ITER Members China, Europe, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States, these components destined for the ITER Tokamak or the surrounding scientific installation will begin arriving in mid-2014.

“The arrival of the test convoy is the result of many years of effort and planning on the part of the French authorities and I would like to express my sincerest appreciation,” said Director-General Motojima at 5:00 a.m. on Friday morning as the long procession of men and vehicles made its way slowly onto the ITER site. He also thanked Agence Iter France, Fusion for Energy and DAHER for their commitment and professionalism and the job well done. He expressed special appreciation to the French gendarmerie for its role in the security of the test convoy. 

To the hundreds of local inhabitants who had come out to see the test convoy as it passed through their villages, he had the following words: “You, too, are part of this historic moment. Thank you for your understanding and for showing so much interest in the world-class science and technology of ITER. You have a share in this success with us.” 

A second test convoy will now be organized to test the overall management and logistics of transport along the ITER Itinerary. Between 2014 and 2019, 230 exceptional convoys are planned for ITER. 

BACKGROUND TO THE PRESS RELEASE 

ITER—designed to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power—will be the world's largest experimental fusion facility. Fusion is the process that powers the sun and the stars: when light atomic nuclei fuse together to form heavier ones, a large amount of energy is released. Fusion research is aimed at developing a safe, abundant and environmentally responsible energy source. 

ITER is also a first-of-a-kind global collaboration. Europe will contribute almost half of the costs of its construction, while the other six Members to this joint international venture (China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA), will contribute equally to the rest. The ITER Project is under construction in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, in the south of France. 

Photos of the ITER Itinerary test convoy can be found in our on-line album. 

More information on the transport of the ITER components can be found at: http://www.iter.org/transport

CONTACT

Michel Claessens 
michel.claessens@iter.org 
+33 6 14 16 41 75