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Juan Carlos López
Senior WriterAn engineer by training. A science and tech journalist by passion, vocation, and conviction. I've been writing professionally for over two decades, and I suspect I still have a long way to go. At Xataka, I write about many topics, but I mainly enjoy covering nuclear fusion, quantum physics, quantum computers, microprocessors, and TVs.
Alba Mora
WriterAn established tech journalist, I entered the world of consumer tech by chance in 2018. In my writing and translating career, I've also covered a diverse range of topics, including entertainment, travel, science, and the economy.
An international consortium led by Europe is developing the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a nuclear fusion experimental reactor located in Cadarache in Southern France. The team recently completed the installation of a cryogenic plant, which is crucial for the successful operation of this highly complex machine.
It may seem paradoxical that ITER requires an extreme cooling plant. The plasma is confined in its vacuum chamber and contains deuterium and tritium nuclei for the fusion reaction. It’ll reach temperatures of at least 270 million degrees Fahrenheit. As such, it may seem strange that a facility designed to produce extreme cold is necessary.
However, this makes sense when you consider that superconducting magnets, cryopumps, and heat shields must be cooled to temperatures as low as -425 degrees Fahrenheit.
The ITER Cryogenic Plant Is an Impressive Feat of Engineering
Superconducting magnets are located outside the vacuum chamber and generate the magnetic field necessary to confine and stabilize the plasma inside. These magnets weigh 10,000 tons and are composed of an alloy of niobium and tin or niobium and titanium. Both of them become superconductive when cooled with supercritical helium to a temperature of -425 degrees Fahrenheit.
The requirement for superconductivity at -452 degrees Fahrenheit emphasizes the need for a robust cooling system, such as the one developed for ITER.
The construction of the ITER nuclear fusion reactor involves collaboration from the U.S., Russia, China, India, South Korea, Japan, and the United Kingdom. However, the cryogenic plant has been constructed by Fusion for Energy. This is the European Union organization that coordinates Europe’s contributions to the ITER project. French company Air Liquide and technicians associated with ITER have also worked on the cryogenic plant.
The extreme cooling facility will provide liquid helium at a temperature of -452 degrees Fahrenheit for the superconducting magnets and cryopumps. It’ll also supply helium gas at -315 degrees Fahrenheit for the heat shields. Cryopumps are ultra-high vacuum devices that remove gases from inside the vacuum chamber, requiring them to operate at extremely low temperatures. Meanwhile, heat shields serve to protect critical reactor components, such as superconducting magnets, from the heat generated by the plasma confined within the vacuum chamber.
The ITER cryogenic plant is massive. It spans a surface area larger than a football field, measuring around 76,400 square feet. Additionally, it features several storage tanks that stand 85 feet tall. As previously noted, without this facility, nuclear fusion would be impossible.
Grigory Kouzmenko, project manager for Fusion for Energy, expresses cautious optimism about the future of ITER: “We have entered the most exciting phase of the project when all the previous years’ efforts are finally coming together and we can benefit from the trustful collaboration between all parties.”
Image | Fusion for Energy
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