Dynamic contracted for ITER Tokamak Assembly

The ITER Organisation is coordinating the construction of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor at Cadarache. This is a major international project to build a 500 MW tokamak fusion device (requiring an input of 50 MW) designed to prove the feasibility of fusion as a large-scale and carbon-free source of energy. The European Union is contributing almost half of the cost of its construction, while the other six members (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the USA) are contributing equally to the rest.

The TAC2 work will include complex lifting, positioning, welding and inspection of components and sub-systems such as the toroidal field coils, vacuum vessel sectors, thermal shields and ports, first in the Assembly Hall and then in the central Tokamak Pit.

"For most of the companies who joined forces within Dynamic, this installation phase is the continuity of years of activities for the ITER project already serving either as designer, manufacturer or installation service provider," Francesco Maestri CEO  of Ansaldo Nucleare, said. "It is this experience we have to integrate with the CMA/IO team to make this first-of-a-kind challenge a technical success, with the highest standards of quality and safety."

Bernard Bigot, director general of ITER, welcomed this next step forward towards the assembly phase. He said : "We are entering a critical time, with the need to assemble and install equipment procured by all ITER Members, with exceptionally demanding specifications which have to be met with high precision, within a quite challenging schedule."