Name and Location
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, Cadarache, France.

Client
The ITER Organisation, which includes China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the US.

Project Description
The ITER project is a large-scale scientific experiment that aims to demonstrate that it is possible to produce commercial energy from fusion. It is based on the ‘tokamak’ concept of magnetic confinement, in which the plasma is contained in a doughnut-shaped vacuum vessel. The fuel for the reactor will be a mixture of two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium, which will be heated to temperatures higher than 150-million degrees centigrade, forming the hot plasma.

The project entails the construction of the Tokamak complex – a 360 000 t building that comprises the tokamak, diagnostic and tritium buildings – in Cadarache, north of Marseille, in southern France. It will have an estimated generating capacity of 500 MW.

The complex will be 80 m high, 120 m long and 80 m wide. Its footprint will be bigger than that of a football stadium.

It will rely on 493 plinths, equipped with antiseismic bearings already in place. The plinths can sustain the overall weight of the reactor – about 23 000 t – almost three times the weight of the Eiffel Tower.

The complex will host 100 heavy nuclear and confinement doors. The major doors will be 4 m high, 4 m long and 35 cm thick. Their unit weight will be about 40 t and they will be remotely operated.

Value
The project is valued at an estimated €13-billion. Members of the ITER Organisation will bear the cost of the project through its ten-year construction phase and its 20-year operational phase before decommissioning.

Duration
First plasma is scheduled for November 2020. Full deuterium-tritium operation is scheduled for March 2027. ITER Organisation and Domestic Agency schedule milestones leading up to these dates are reviewed on a monthly basis and strategies are developed to make up for lost time where necessary.

Latest Developments
The first concrete has been poured for the basemat of the Tokamak complex of the Iter project.
World Nuclear News has reported that the concrete pour started on 11 December and that an estimated 820 m³ of concrete were poured into the first plot of the seismic pit for the Tokamak complex in 12 hours.

A total of fifteen plots will be poured over the next six months to complete the 1.5-m-thick B2 slab. In total, 15 000 m³ of concrete and 4 000 t of reinforcement will be needed for the slab.

The concrete used for the B2 basemat has been the object of particular care, conforming to the rigorous requirements of a nuclear facility in terms of stability, water permeability and gas confinement.

The Tokamak complex will house the Iter fusion reactor and the diagnostic and tritium management systems, and will be supported on antiseismic bearings that are already in place to support the 23 000 t mass of the reactor system.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
The VFR consortium, comprising Vinci Construction Grands Projets, Razel-Bec, Dodin Campenon Bernard, Campenon Bernard Sud-Est, GTM Sud, Chantiers Modernes Sud and Ferrovial Agroman.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
ITER Organisation communications, Michel Claessens, tel +33 4 42 17 66 12 or email michel.claessens@iter.org.
Vinci Construction Grands Projets, tel +33 1 47 16 39 00 or fax +33 1 47 51 46 26.
Razel-Bec, tel +331 69 85 69 or fax +33 1 60 19 06 45.
Dodin Campenon Bernard, tel +33 01 49 61 71 00 or fax +33 1 49 61 25 44.
Campenon Bernard Sud-Est, tel +33 4 92 08 45 02.
GTM Sud, tel +33 491 767 507, fax +33 141 915 823 or email gtmsud-gci@vinci-construction.fr.
Chantiers Modernes Sud, tel +33 5 57 89 16 76.