Nuclear Power
against accidents, there is another, more immediate reason for carrying out the work. If French nuclear regulators are not satisfied that all safety questions continue to be fully addressed, they have the power to step in and halt design and construction of the magnets, which would be a setback for the whole ITER project. “It makes sense to get as much information as we can about the risks, however minimal,” says Zheng. “With something as important as this, prevention is far better than cure.” Another beneficiary of the ongoing funding is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). Te company has received an order from the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) for the manufacture of two TF coils. Te JAEA is the Japan’s designated domestic agency for the ITER project and this is the third order that it has placed with MHI for TF coils. Te ITER is to be configured from a total of 19 TF coils, including one in reserve, of which Japan has been contracted to provide nine. MHI’s role in the manufacture of
Japan’s TF coils is to provide the plates for inserting the superconductors and the containers to hold the actual coils. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is in charge of producing the coil winding packs.
JAEA has been undertaking
development of fusion reactors since the 1960s, and MHI has been participating in this effort from an early stage. To date the company has taken responsibility for developing and manufacturing many related devices, including the JT-602, a core apparatus within Japan’s own fusion research and development programme. In other developments, ITER’s council has
approved a proposal that operations will commence
In addition, the ITER test convoy – an 800 tonne trailer replicating the dimensions of ITER’s largest and heaviest component loads- has successfully travelled the 104 km required from the site of manufacture to Saint-Paul-lès-Durance in order to assess the route. Tis successful precursor paves the way for the deliveries of actual ITER components which will begin this summer. l
Fig. 2. The thermonuclear experimental reactor is currently under construction at the Cadarache facility in the city of Saint-Paul-lès-Durance in south- eastern France.
with a full beryllium and tungsten divertor (inner wall). Te original plan was to use a carbon-fibre divertor that would have been replaced during the second phase of operations with a beryllium/tungsten solution. Tis significant decision, which will result in cost savings of hundreds of millions of Euros for the project, comes after more than two years of R&D on the tungsten divertor that was supported by successful experiments and testing carried out in the Institute of Electrophysical Apparatus in St Petersburg, Russia, and on the European Tokamak JET at Culham.
UK offers £13 million for nuclear technologies T
he UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has joined with other public bodies to open up
opportunities for UK businesses, offering a total of up to £13 million investment for new technologies covering new build, current operations and decommissioning. The collaboration is aimed at helping
UK-based businesses take advantage of the opportunities arising following the recent agreement on Hinkley Point C, the first nuclear power station to be built in the country for almost 20 years. The funds will be made available
this year as part of a drive to grow a robust, sustainable UK supply chain through the development of innovative products and services for the nuclear sector. The initiative will focus on key technology areas such as construction, manufacturing, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning and waste. Business and energy minister Michael
Fallon said: “We are committed to nuclear power as part of the low carbon mix of our future energy supply. And through our nuclear industrial strategy we are working in partnership with industry to
grasp the multi-billion pound long-term opportunities for UK companies and for thousands of highly skilled jobs. We want to build a robust UK based supply chain for existing and future nuclear power stations.” In 2012, £18 million was invested in nuclear R&D through a partnership between the TSB bank, NDA, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The 35 projects, which received funding following a competitive submission process, are ongoing. l
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