FPN09-61

ITER Update

December 6, 2009

ITER, a joint venture among the U.S., EU, Russia, Japan, China, Korea and India, is designed to produce 500 Megawatts fusion power using only 50 Megawatts to heat the plasma. Construction at the site in Cadarache, France, is well underway. Thirty-nine buildings are being built. The original construction cost estimate, made in 2001, of approximately 5.4 billion Euros, and the construction schedule, is under review and will be considered at an interim ITER Council meeting probably in March, with final approval of cost and schedule in June. Currently, first plasma is scheduled for 2018. The original cost estimate did not provide necessary funds for many items now considered necessary, including finishing the design, developing infrastructure and various support services. The cost of ITER construction is being born approximately 45% by the EU and 9% by each of the other six parties. There are currently approximately 440 people from the various parties working at the site. Another 400-500 people are working on ITER in the parties' ITER Domestic Agencies. ITER components are being built in the various countries and are being contributed to ITER as "contributions in kind." Currently, the ITER Organization has signed 28 Procurement Arrangements with the various Domestic Agencies, with a total value estimated at approximately 20% of the total ITER cost. Taking into account the site-specific work now underway, approximately one-third of the total ITER value is now under contract. A new set of Project Specifications were approved in June 2008 and an Integrated Project Schedule and Cost Estimate are being prepared by the ITER Organization for the March interim ITER Council meeting. Items on the construction critical path include the buildings, toroidal magnet coils and vacuum vessel.

The U.S. contributions include the following ITER subsystems: Cooling Water, Pellet Injector, Port-based Diagnostics, Toroidal Field Conductor, Central Solenoid Windings, Blanket/Shield, In-vessel Coils Design and R&D, Electric Power Systems Components, ICH Transmission Lines and ECH Transmission Lines. Contracts totaling $33 M have been awarded for TF Conductor, R&D and design have been completed for CS Winding, Blanket/Shield has been redesigned and fabrication methods are being investigated, contract award expected soon for Cooling Water System, progress on all other U.S. obligations.

Talks on the status of ITER were given by Norbert Holtcamp, ITER Principal Deputy Director General and by Ned Sauthoff, head of the U.S. ITER Domestic Agency at Fusion Power Associates Annual Meeting and Symposium, Dec 2-3 in Washington, DC. The talks are posted and can be accessed at http://fusionpower.org and click on Annual Meetings and Symposia , or at http://fire.pppl.gov/fpa_annual_meet.html Detailed information on ITER, as well as links to the Domestic Agencies, is available from the international ITER site: http://www.iter.org