Hardware

Central Solenoid

The central solenoid is the heart of the ITER tokamak and serves as a critical element in the ITER magnet system. The United States is responsible for the design, research and development, and fabrication of the central solenoid’s seven modules, plus the associated structure, assembly tooling, bus extensions, and cooling connections.

Diagnostics

ITER diagnostic systems provide measurements to aid understanding of plasma behavior and optimize fusion performance. The United States is responsible for the research and development, design, and fabrication for 14% of ITER’s port-based diagnostic systems, including integration of four diagnostic port plugs, plus seven instrumentation systems out of a total of approximately 45 individual diagnostic systems.

Disruption Mitigation System

The United States is supporting ITER’s disruption mitigation system. Research and development of this technology includes deployment of prototypical shattered pellet injection units on existing tokamaks around the world.  The disruption mitigation system limits both electromagnetic impacts and the magnitude of heat and particle flux to plasma facing components. It also suppresses the formation of (or aids in the dissipation of) a runaway electron beam.

Electron Cyclotron Heating Transmission Lines

The electron cyclotron heating transmission lines enable a mission-critical burning plasma in ITER by advancing the technology for a unique range of power, pulse length and microwave frequency. The United States is responsible for the research and development, design, and fabrication of the electron cyclotron transmission lines.

Instrumentation and Controls

The United States is providing instrumentation and controls for seven systems: the tokamak cooling water system, electron cyclotron transmission lines, ion cyclotron transmission lines, diagnostics, pellet injection, roughing pump systems, and vacuum auxiliary systems.

Ion Cyclotron Heating Transmission Lines

The ion cyclotron transmission lines enable a mission-critical burning plasma in ITER. The United States is responsible for the ion cyclotron transmission lines and impedance matching system, including research and development, design, and fabrication.

Pellet Injection (Fueling) System

The pellet injection system has three functions: providing a steady state supply of deuterium and tritium fuel; mitigating the impact of edge localized modes on the plasma-facing components; and providing impurity pellets for physics studies. The United States is responsible for the research and development, design, and fabrication of the pellet injection system for ITER.

Port Integration

ITER’s ports will house diagnostic systems. The United States is providing design, fabrication, assembly, and testing of four port plugs and the integration of 17 tenant diagnostics into these ports.

Steady State Electrical Network

ITER’s steady state electrical network is an alternating current power substation and distribution system that supplies electrical power to all ITER conventional systems and facilities. The United States contributed 75% of the equipment required for the network, excluding cables and emergency power.

Tokamak Cooling Water System

The tokamak cooling water system is designed to cool client systems, such as the first-wall/blanket, vacuum vessel, divertor, and neutral beam injector. The United States is responsible for the design, fabrication, acceptance testing, and delivery of the tokamak cooling water system.

Tokamak Exhaust Processing System

The tokamak exhaust processing system separates the exhaust gases into a pure hydrogen isotope stream and a hydrogen-free gas stream. The United States is responsible for the design, fabrication, and delivery of the tokamak exhaust processing system.

Toroidal Field Conductor

The United States fabricated 8% of ITER’s toroidal field coil conductor, which will generate the immense toroidal magnetic fields needed to confine the plasma inside the ITER tokamak. Altogether, ITER’s 18 toroidal field coils will produce a magnetic field of 5.3 tesla around the ITER tokamak torus.

Vacuum Auxiliary and Roughing Pumps Systems

ITER has unique vacuum pumping requirements due to high throughput tritium operation. The United States is responsible for the development, design, and fabrication of the vacuum auxiliary and roughing pumps systems.