ITER PF6 Coil Arrives on Site

Finally!

Around 11:00 a.m., June 26, PF6, the 400-ton superconducting magnet coil with an 11.2m external diameter, rolled to Cadarache, France, the ITER site, on a 342-wheel flat-bed trailer, after its over three months sea journey starting from March this year.

A takeover ceremony was held on the morning in which Bernard BIGOT, Director-General of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Organization and other staff were waiting there to welcome the giant guest.

Actually, this giant guest as well as the key component of ITER that was manufactured and delivered by the Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP), Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) is about to be installed at the bottom of the cryostat and took the team six year to complete this tough mission.

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

To embrace this giant guest, lots of work has been done ahead of time to guarantee the safe land transportation from Marseille Port to Cadarache ITER site. Bridges on the way were reinforced, roads were broadened, a new bridge was constructed and even a peak of mountain was removed.

ITER PF6 is recognized as the heaviest and most difficult superconducting magnet manufactured so far in the world. It is actually F4E’s ITER procurement package and ASSIP team won that bid in 2013. Due to its technical complexity, it took the team enormous efforts to complete the manufacturing. Even its delivery, for over three months, was not that easy for difficulties caused by COVID-19 epidemic.

At the welcome ceremony, BIGOT highlighted the great effort and contribution made by Chinese team to ensure the both 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 on ITER site for implementing ITER Tokamak Assembly Contract NO.1 (or TAC-1). This was considered a “great connection” in fusion community, as Johannes Schewmer, Director of Fusion for Energy (F4E) commented.

"Our team is honored by the trust from ITER Organization and Fusion for Energy to undertake PF6 coil task,” said SONG Yuntao, Vice President of HFIPS as well as the Director of ASIPP, who also expressed his happy words during his remote connection to the ceremony on the “mutual trust” that has been built during the project implementation between China and Europe.（XI Yingkun reports）

Related report to learn more about: First ITER Poloidal Field Coil Gets Ready to be Shipped to ITER Site

"boarding" to start its sea transportation (Image by Bloomberg News Service)

Ceremony on Iter site to welcome its arrival (Image by ITER Organization)