Finally!

Around 11:00 a.m., June 26, PF6, the 400-ton superconducting magnet coil with an 11.2m external diameter, rolled into Cadarache, France, the ITER site, on a 342-wheel flat-bed trailer, after a more than three months sea journey that started in March this year.

A takeover ceremony was held that morning in which Bernard Bigot, Director-General of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Organization and other staff welcomed the giant guest.

A ceremony at ITER site welcomes PF6’s arrival. [IMAGE: HEFEI INSTITUTES OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES]

Actually, the giant guest is the key component of ITER that was manufactured and delivered by the Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP) of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS). It’s about to be installed at the bottom of the cryostat, the culmination of six years of tough work.

Its arrival marked a milestone in ITER assembly, and paved the way for the planned first plasma in 2025.

A ceremony at ITER site welcomes PF6’s arrival. IMAGE: ITER ORGANIZATION]

Lots of work had been done ahead of time to guarantee safe land transport from Marseille to the Cadarache ITER site. Bridges on the way were reinforced, roads were broadened, a new bridge was constructed and a mountain peak was even removed.

“Boarding” to start its sea transportation [IMAGE: BLOOMBERG NEWS SERVICE]

ITER PF6 is recognized as the heaviest and most difficult superconducting magnet manufactured so far in the world. The F4E ITER procurement package and ASSIP team won the bid in 2013. Due to its technical complexity, it cost them enormous effort to complete the manufacturing. Even its delivery, spread over three months, was not that easy because of difficulties caused by the COVID-19 epidemic.

At the welcoming ceremony, Bigot highlighted the great effort and contribution made by the Chinese team to ensure timely delivery and arrival of PF6. At the same, he also showed his thanks to more than 100 Chinese engineers and technicians who are now working at the ITER site implementing ITER Tokamak Assembly Contract NO.1 (or TAC-1). Johannes Schewmer, Director of Fusion for Energy (F4E), said that fulfillment of TAC-1 is considered a “great connection” in the fusion community.

“Our team is honored by the trust from the ITER Organization and Fusion for Energy to undertake the PF6 coil task,” said Song Yuntao, Vice President of HFIPS and Director of ASIPP by remote connection to the ceremony. Song added that the project’s implementation has built “mutual trust” between China and Europe.

Source: Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences