2023-06-30 06:33:28
The site of the ITER fusion reactor in Cadarache in southern France. In the foreground the reactor hall where ITER is being built and behind it the assembly hall where the components are assembled. Image: ITER
The ITER fusion reactor is intended to pave the way for a power plant. But technical problems are delaying the commissioning of the mega project again. The plasma physicist Hartmut Zohm from the MPI for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Garching in conversation.
After many postponements in the past, the International Thermonuclear Reactor ITER was last scheduled to go into operation in 2025 at the Cadarche site in southern France. Now this date is also on the brink. At least he’s not on the anymore ITER home page to find. The corona pandemic caused delays in the delivery of components and the assembly of the experimental reactor. But now you admit technical problems. Mr. Zohm, how big are the technical problems with ITER?
There are mainly two things: The vacuum chamber, which consists of several segments and is intended to contain the hot fuel – the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium – shows deviations from the specification. These are too large so that the segments cannot easily be welded on site. The French nuclear supervisory authority has high requirements for the quality of the welds, because the vacuum chamber, which was manufactured in South Korea, is the reactor’s first safety barrier. Now you are looking for a suitable company for this task that can meet the strict requirements.
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