Clean nuclear power: the final EU component for the ITER fusion reactor has been delivered

After 16 years, the European project on the vacuum vessel – a key component of ITER, the largest international experiment dedicated to the construction of an experimental nuclear fusion reactor – has come to an end. Fusion for Energy (F4E), together with Ansaldo Nucleare, Westinghouse Electric Company and Walter Tosto, have completed the construction of the final European section of the component, which was then shipped from the Westinghouse plant in Monfalcone and transported by Daher to the ITER site in Cadarache, France.

The project involved over 150 professionals and at least 15 companies across Europe. The five European sectors required more than 2 million hours of work and 750 kilometres of weld beads. The four segments making up each sector were manufactured at the Westinghouse plant in Monfalcone and the Walter Tosto plant in Chieti, then welded together and transported, by sea and overland, to Cadarache. Europe has delivered all five sectors over the past two years. F4E also used artificial intelligence to cross-reference and verify the data collected by the technical teams at the plants. The component was also subjected to extremely rigorous checks to verify its compliance with the standards of the French Nuclear Safety Authority.

The vacuum vessel is an essential component for the operation of ITER. It is an imposing double-walled stainless steel container which will house the fusion reaction and is designed to ensure an environment free from air, dust and impurities. When the ITER reactor is commissioned, powerful superconducting magnets, arranged around the vacuum chamber, will keep the plasma suspended, preventing it from coming into contact with the walls. The chamber comprises nine sectors, five of which were manufactured in Europe and four in South Korea. Once assembled, it will measure 19.4 metres in diameter and 11.4 metres in height, with a total weight of approximately 5,200 tonnes.