Subscribe options

Select your newsletters:

Please enter your email address:

@

Your email address will only be used for the purpose of sending you the ITER Organization publication(s) that you have requested. ITER Organization will not transfer your email address or other personal data to any other party or use it for commercial purposes.

If you change your mind, you can easily unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe option at the bottom of an email you've received from ITER Organization.

For more information, see our Privacy policy.

News & Media

Latest ITER Newsline

  • Fusion supply chain | A glimpse into the future for commercial fusion reactors

    Most of the USD 7 billion in investment in private fusion initiatives has gone to companies that are building devices from the ground up. But recently, another [...]

    Read more

  • Outreach | ITER @ October science festivals

    Every October, before schools pause for two weeks of holiday, towns and cities in France open their municipal spaces to scientific experts of all stripes who ar [...]

    Read more

  • Image of the week | ITER Director-General visits Russia

    The ITER Director-General was in Russia last week, meeting with stakeholders and holding technical meetings with colleagues in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. As [...]

    Read more

  • Image of the Week | Sector 5 is on its way

    The first vacuum vessel sector produced in Europe travelled last week between Monfalcone, Italy, and the French port of Fos-sur-Mer. The 440-tonne component had [...]

    Read more

  • Anniversary | ITER Document Management system turns 20

    Whatever its nature, every large project generates huge numbers of documents. And when project collaborators operate from different countries, as was the case f [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

First vacuum vessel sector

A "landmark day" celebrated in Korea

A ceremony was held today, 20 April, in Ulsan, South Korea, to mark the completion of the first ITER vacuum vessel sector. This remarkable piece of tokamak engineering has been more than 10 years in the making.
Due to worldwide travel restrictions, ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot participated in the ceremony 20 April by video conference. (Click to view larger version...)
Due to worldwide travel restrictions, ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot participated in the ceremony 20 April by video conference.
Vacuum vessel sector #6—the first-completed segment of the vacuum vessel construction program—is ready to leave the workshops of Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, Korea, for shipment to ITER. The 440-tonne, double-walled vessel is nearly 14 metres in height, 6 metres in width and 8 metres in length. Nine sectors in all—four procured by the Korean Domestic Agency and five procured by the European Domestic Agency—will be assembled and welded at ITER.

Gyung Su Lee—former President of the National Fusion Research Institute of Korea, former Head of ITER Korea, and Deputy Director-General and Chief Operating Officer of the ITER Project from October 2015 to this year—knows just how much effort, ingenuity, dedication and skill have gone into the successful manufacturing program for ITER vacuum vessel sector #6. (Click to view larger version...)
Gyung Su Lee—former President of the National Fusion Research Institute of Korea, former Head of ITER Korea, and Deputy Director-General and Chief Operating Officer of the ITER Project from October 2015 to this year—knows just how much effort, ingenuity, dedication and skill have gone into the successful manufacturing program for ITER vacuum vessel sector #6.
Due to worldwide travel restrictions, ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot participated in today's ceremony remotely.

"Today is a very special day for ITER Project, a true landmark. Every engineer who has been involved in the design and manufacture of this remarkable piece of tokamak engineering understands the unprecedented nature of this challenge. With exceptionally complex geometries, 1,380 metres of intricate welding, internal in-wall shielding blocks and cooling water channels, hundreds of interfaces to other components, and very strict nuclear safety compliance requirements, it has been difficult—I might say 'painful' and nearly impossible—at times. Each step has been challenging, from manufacturing qualification, machining, and welding, to non-destructive examination and verifying tolerances. Hundreds of people have been involved in the design and manufacture of this challenging first-of-a-kind component. Today, they are all present in our mind."

The ITER Director-General thanked members of the Korean government, Hyundai Heavy Industries, the Korean Domestic Agency, the ITER Vacuum Vessel Project Team, and key ITER staff for the successful accomplishment of this milestone.

The ITER Newsline will have a full technical report on 27 April.

return to the latest published articles

FOR THE PUBLIC

FOR THE PRESS

FOR SCIENTISTS

FOR INDUSTRY

INTRANET