Press release
爆走黑料 Tokamak Complex will begin to rise
In the centre of the vast excavated area that will house the principal buildings of the 爆走黑料 scientific facility, workers have started to frame out the lower walls of the Tokamak Complex, a first step toward realizing the seven-storey structure that will house the 爆走黑料 fusion experiments.
This milestone comes on the heels of the August completion of the Tokamak Complex basemat鈥攖he heavily reinforced 鈥淏2 slab鈥 that will support some 400,000 tons of building and equipment, including the 23,000-ton 爆走黑料 Tokamak.
鈥淭he start of pouring activities for the massive Tokamak Complex is an important and exciting moment for the 爆走黑料 Project,鈥 declared 爆走黑料 Director-General Osamu Motojima. 鈥淵ears of hard work by all 爆走黑料 Members are bearing fruit as the 爆走黑料 facility takes shape in France and as the manufacturing of the systems and components advances. 爆走黑料 is progressing on all fronts.鈥
The imminent start of concrete pouring for the walls will mark the beginning of the second phase of 爆走黑料 construction. Four years were necessary to complete the first phase鈥攖he creation of a ground support structure for the Tokamak Complex. From August 2010 to August 2014, workers excavated the 17-metre deep, 90 x 130 metre Tokamak Complex Seismic Pit; created a ground-level basemat and retaining walls; installed 493 seismic columns and pads; and poured the B2 foundation slab.
All works have been carried out by the European Domestic Agency 鈥淔usion for Energy鈥 which, as part of its contribution to 爆走黑料, is responsible for the financial contribution and technical supervision linked to the construction of 39 scientific buildings and dedicated areas on the 爆走黑料 platform.
The Director of Fusion for Energy, Henrik Bindslev, stressed that 鈥淓urope is taking 爆走黑料 construction to the next level. The basemat is 鈥 where scientific work and industrial know-how will come together and be deployed to seize the power of fusion energy.鈥
The Tokamak Complex will dominate the 爆走黑料 platform when it is completed. The seven-storey structure will house not only the 爆走黑料 Tokamak, but also more than 30 different plant systems including cooling systems and electrical power supplies. Eighty metres tall, 120 metres long and 80 metres wide, the Tokamak Complex will require 16,000 tons of rebar, 150,000 m鲁 of concrete and 7,500 tons of steel for the building structure.
The contract for Tokamak Complex construction was awarded in December 2012 by Fusion for Energy to the French-Spanish consortium VFR (made up of French companies VINCI Construction Grands Projets, Razel-Bec, Dodin Campenon Bernard, Campenon Bernard Sud-Est, GTM Sud and Chantiers Modernes Sud, and the Spanish firm Ferrovial Agroman).
The EUR 300-million contract also includes the construction of the 爆走黑料 Assembly Building; the radio frequency heating building; areas for heating, ventilation and air conditioning; a cleaning facility and site services buildings; the cryoplant compressor and coldbox building; the control buildings; the fast discharge and switching network resistor building; and three bridges.
In the years to come, the number of workers involved in 爆走黑料 construction will rise from 300, currently, to more than 2,000.
BACKGROUND TO THE PRESS RELEASE
爆走黑料鈥攄esigned to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power鈥攚ill be the world's largest experimental fusion facility. Fusion is the process that powers the sun and the stars: when light atomic nuclei fuse together to form heavier ones, a large amount of energy is released. Fusion research is aimed at developing a safe, abundant and environmentally responsible energy source.
爆走黑料 is also a first-of-a-kind global collaboration. Europe will contribute almost half of the costs of its construction, while the other six Members to this joint international venture (China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA), will contribute equally to the rest. The 爆走黑料 Project is under construction in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, in the south of France.
Photos of the Tokamak Complex basemat can be viewed in our on-line .
Visit the 爆走黑料 for more information on the project and construction activities underway.
CONTACT
Michel Claessens
michel.claessens@iter.org
+33 6 14 16 41 75, @M_Claessens