Providing cryogenic fluids to the superconducting magnets, cryopumps and other 'clients' in the ITER machine requires a sophisticated distribution system that ramifies to deliver the cryoplant-originating fluids to their final destinations. Last week, three of the key distribution components, the auxiliary cold boxes, were lifted from the Assembly Hall and positioned inside the Tokamak Building prior to their final installation. There will be a sum total of five auxiliary cold boxes, all located at Level 3 of the Tokamak Building. Procured by India and designed and manufactured by Linde Kryotechnik AG in Switzerland, the 28-tonne components act like dispatchers, receiving the different fluids from the cryogenic termination cold box located inside the cryoplant and redistributing them throughout the ITER machine. Three have now been delivered; two others are expected next year. Each of the auxiliary cold boxes serves a specific client, either cryopumps, magnet coils (toroidal field, central solenoid, poloidal field or correction), or magnet supporting structures. Looking like giant cylindrical boilers, the auxiliary cold boxes accommodate a complex network of piping, valves, cryogenic rotating machines, liquid helium phase separators and heat exchangers. Last week's operation marked an important milestone in the linking of the cryoplant to the Tokamak Building. From producer to consumer, by way of the cryogenic termination cold box and a pair of massive cryolines that will transport the cryogenic fluids over a bridge connecting the two buildings, circuit installation is now progressing steadily.

Twelve years ago, Roger Pizot, the recently departed mayor of Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, and Osamu Motojima, then Director-General of the ITER Organization, established a tradition. A few weeks before the end of every year, the municipality of Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, where ITER is administratively located, would present the ITER Organization with a large Christmas tree whose decorations would be lit in the presence of the assembled staff ... and to the sound of the ITER band. The ceremony this year took place on 4 December in the presence of Deputy-Mayor Elise Placé and Councilor Sandrine Meyer (representing Mayor Romain Buchaut who succeeded Roger Pizot in 2020). On the ITER side, Sriram Kattalai Ramachandran, Head of the Office of the Director-General, and Ioan Cruceana, Chief Institutional Host State Relations, represented Director-General Pietro Barabaschi. 'Saint-Paul-lez-Durance is [...] our home away from home,' said Sriram. For the ITER staff and collaborators, the lighting of the tree carries a double significance: 'It makes us feel part of a community, and it symbolizes our constant efforts towards lighting up the Earth with a new star.' 

During the fourth annual ITER Awards ceremony last week, prizes went to the teams that were perceived to have had a 'major impact' on 2023 project activities. In a year marked by transition and change, staff all across the project—at the ITER Organization and in the Domestic Agencies—were asked to nominate teams in four categories based on the 'positive impact' they believed these teams had had on ITER Project activities in 2023. For this cycle, the team categories were modified slightly from last year's ceremony to reflect 2023 priorities. Seventy-seven nominations were sorted into 4-6 final nominations per category based on the frequency of nomination for a given team and each team's impact during calendar year 2023. The shortlist was then put to the vote, with each staff member voting for one team per category. The outcome of the elections was as follows: For the Assembly Team Award, which recognizes activities that are especially challenging due to the technical requirements (e.g., complexity, precision, new technologies) or the conditions and constraints involved, the winner was the Vacuum Vessel Assembly Group and the TAC 2 team for the successful removal of sector module 6 from the pit. The Component Delivery Team Award was presented to the combined European and Japanese Domestic Agency Toroidal Field Coils Teams for the completion, this year, of the toroidal field coil manufacturing program. Nineteen coils were successfully delivered to the ITER Project between April 2020 and December 2023 (the last one arrives this week). Best Support of the ITER Project was awarded to the Science Division, the ITER Scientist Fellows, and collaborators for carrying out the physics analysis required to support the new plans for construction and operation including the definition of machine configuration, systems required, and the objectives of the new Baseline. The Special Contribution Team Award recognized the Facilities Management Team for all it does to keep day-to-day operations running smoothly and the extra challenge of major office moves in 2023 related to re-organization. The ITER Director-General, Pietro Barabaschi, also gave out 'Director's choice' awards to the Finance & Project Control Division for the new, more efficient way the budget call was conducted this year, and to the team of volunteers and staff members that ensure that every Open Doors Day (and there were three in 2023) is a public success. 'To all of the winning teams, your dedication, commitment and unwavering spirit are essential for the success of the ITER Project,' said Director-General Barabaschi. 'I would like also to extend my deepest gratitude for all of those contributing project-wide and who could not all be recognized today. 2023 has undeniably been a year of resilience for all of us. The setbacks we encountered were handled not as roadblocks but as stepping stones that have pushed us to innovate, collaborate and reassess strategies; thank you all for your determination and collaboration.' This is the fourth time that the ITER Awards ceremony has taken place as part of the end-of-year ITER celebration. Each event is organized around one of the ITER Member cultures, with performances and themed menus. This year, the theme was 'A night in India!' and the Director-General had the honour to welcome K M Praphullachandra Sharma (Deputy Chief of Mission) and Madhav R. Sulphule (First Secretary, Political) from the Indian Embassy in France.

Eighty people took part in the two-day German Fusion Forum in December, held for the first time at ITER Headquarters. Last week, the ITER Organization hosted the fourth convention of the German Fusion Forum, a coalition of fusion industries, research centres and fusion startups. More than 80 participants accepted the invitation of the Fusion Industrial Liaison Office (FILO) and its CEO Heinz-Ullrich Kraft to take stock of the recent developments in the public and the private fusion sectors, and to learn about the government funding foreseen in the coming years. On the first day, ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi presented the current state of the project and took his time to discuss technical issues, lessons learned and the planned approach towards ITER operation. Presentations were also made by representatives of German startups Proxima Fusion, Focused Energy and Marvel Fusion. The second day was dedicated to fusion financing, for example asking how private equity might support fusion technology development. Much attention was paid to the presentation given by the representative of the German Federal Ministry for Education and Science, Peter Schroth, who explained Germany's roadmap 'to making fusion a reality.' In September 2023, Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger had announced more than EUR 1 billion (USD 1.1 billion) for fusion research over the next five years, targeted both to magnetic confinement and laser fusion concepts. The announcement followed the publication of a position paper describing the framework conditions under which a fusion power plant could become reality as quickly as possible. Calls for proposals will open as soon as the German government comes to an agreement on the budget for 2024. 'These are challenging but also exciting times,' Schroth concluded. Presentations have been uploaded here: www.filo.kit.edu