The ITER fusion reactor in France is on track to become operational with the delivery of all special magnets needed for its core. This marks the culmination of a two-decade-long design process involving component manufacturing across three continents. The reactor, which is the world’s largest fusion experiment, will generate 500 MW of power at full capacity and provide 200 MW of continuous electricity when connected to the grid, enough to power 200,000 homes.
Fusion presents a promising option for cleaner energy solutions and recent advancements in research have shown that energy can be harnessed from fusion reactions. Over 30 countries are currently collaborating on building the International Experimental Thermonuclear Reactor (ITER) in France. The ITER design utilizes a tokamak reactor where hydrogen is injected into a doughnut-shaped vacuum chamber and heated to create plasma, simulating the conditions found at the core of the Sun. Fusion reactions ignite at temperatures reaching 150 million degrees Celsius within the plasma, which must be contained by massive superconducting magnets along the reactor walls.
The tokamak design at ITER includes the use of niobium-tin and niobium-titanium as fuel for the magnets. These coils are activated electrically and then cooled to -269 degrees Celsius to transform them into superconducting magnets. The reactor will deploy the magnets in three different configurations to form an invisible magnetic cage that confines the plasma.
Each of the D-shaped magnets is approximately 17 meters tall, nearly 9 meters wide, and weighs 360 tons. The magnets were manufactured by Fusion for Energy in Europe and QST in Japan using an elaborate manufacturing process involving winding niobium-tin filaments with copper wires, heating them, and enclosing them in a steel housing with helium cooling channels. Once assembled, these powerful machines will revolutionize our approach towards sustainable energy solutions that are free from carbon emissions.
This groundbreaking project represents a significant step forward in our pursuit of cleaner energy sources that can be turned on and off as needed. With ITER’s successful completion, we can hope for a future where fusion power becomes more accessible and affordable for all nations around