Iter has just completed the manufacture of the most powerful system of pulsed superconducting electromagnets ever designed. Comprising several components supplied by the USA, Russia, China and Europe, it forms the magnetic core of the tokamak reactor under construction at Saint-Paul-lez-Durance. The element just completed is the sixth module of the ITER tokamak's central solenoid, manufactured and tested by General Atomics in the USA.
Once assembled at the Saint-Paul-lez-Durance/Cadarache site in the Bouches-du-Rhône region, the central solenoid - an 18-meter-high cylinder with a 4-meter diameter - will be capable of generating a magnetic field so intense that it could lift an aircraft carrier. The entire magnetic system, weighing almost 3,000 tonnes, includes six ring magnets (poloidal field), to confine the plasma in a magnetic "cage". Objective: to produce 500 MW of fusion energy from 50 MW injected, i.e. an amplification factor of 10.
International cooperation
Europe is contributing around 45% of the cost of the ITER facility. China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States each contribute 9%. For example, the USA supplied the 18 m-high central solenoid and its six modules, as well as its supporting exoskeleton. Japan supplied the 43 km of superconducting wires and 8 of the 18 toroidal field (TF) magnets. Russia supplied the poloidal field magnet (9 m in diameter) that will crown the top of the Tokamak, and produced 40% of the PF superconducting cables. Europe manufactured four PF magnets, ten toroidal magnets and five vacuum chamber sectors on site. China built a 10 m PF magnet, 18 correction coils and cryogenic power supply systems. Korea supplied 4 vacuum chamber sectors, heat shields and pre-assembly tools. India designed the 30 m cryostat and helium cooling lines.
This latest technical milestone paves the way for final assembly of the ITER tokamak. By 2024, ITER has reached 100% of its construction targets. With the delivery of the main machine components, the ITER Tokamak is now in the assembly phase.
In April 2025, three weeks ahead of schedule, the first vacuum chamber module was inserted into the tokamak assembly shaft.
