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

Client
The ITER Organisation, which includes China, the European Union (EU), 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. Each door 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. The ITER Organisation and Domestic Agency schedule milestones leading up to these dates and are reviewed on a monthly basis, with strategies developed to make up for lost time, where necessary.

Latest Developments
Construction on the ITER is accelerating because of two contracts between Fusion for Energy (F4E), the EU body managing Europe’s contribution to ITER, and Ferrovial Agroman to design and build seven buildings as part of the project.

The buildings house facilities and a range of high-technology components that will be used in the fusion energy project. The collective budget of the two contracts is estimated at €40 million and the works are expected to be completed in the next four years.

Under the first contract, Ferrovial Agroman will build two buildings for magnetic power conversion, each occupying an area of 4 900 m² and a volume of 39 000 m³.  These buildings will house components manufactured in China, Russia and South Korea, which will transform alternating current into direct current to supply the magnets of the Tokamak. The company will also build a smaller building for the reactive power compensation system, which is necessary for the electricity grid to function.

Under the second contract, Ferrovial Agroman will design and build the cooling tower and the hot and cold water basins. These structures, the size of ten Olympic-size swimming pools, about 26 000 m³ in total, will store the water to cool the ITER. Under the agreement, Ferrovial Agroman will also build a set of buildings for cooling and water treatment systems, among other functions.

There will be 39 buildings on the 42 ha ITER site. Currently, there are 300 personnel directly involved in construction and, by mid-2015, it is expected to reach 2 000. One of the key challenges will be to accommodate the needs of the rapidly growing workforce and guarantee an optimal use of space for the different companies operating on the ground to carry out the construction of all infrastructures in parallel and on time.

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.
Ferrovial Agroman, tel +34 915 862 500.