ITER: a crucial step was reached for the Vacuum Vessel’s sectors construction

ITER is the most important project for the development of nuclear fusion as a feasible and sustainable energy source.

It is the most relevant international collaboration in the Energy field  involving 50% of the worldwide population and covering 80% of global GDP.

As a member of the AMW Consortium (Ansaldo, Mangiarotti, Walter Tosto), we have been appointed for the supply of five sectors of the vacuum vessel, the heart of the Tokamak machine.

The activities for the manufacturing of such sectors reached an important milestone in these days. Installation of the Vacuum Vessel’s In-wall Shielding Block on the Poloidal Segment 3 on Sector 5 was started at our nuclear dedicated workshop.

The blocks are made of stainless steel with high boron content as boron absorbs fast neutrons emitted by the plasma during fusion reactions.

Installation is a critical task as it means that a large portion of the Vacuum Vessel segment becomes blocked off and any analysis or testing must be completed before the blocks can be mounted.