All eight trailers with Russian electrical equipment for the power supply systems of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor safely crossed the Russian border. The cargo was shipped from the territory of JSC "NIIEFA" (ROSATOM), St. Petersburg. This is the first shipment of Russian components of the future machine made this year.
This delivery (the 24th in a row) includes busbars providing power supply to the superconducting coils of the ITER magnetic system, switching devices and components of the busbar condition monitoring system. "The supply and commissioning of power supply systems are vital for obtaining the first plasma in the reactor that is now under construction in France. In this regard, the equipment must be delivered regularly to ensure continuous assembly activities in accordance with the schedule. Any delay in its delivery can cause a postponement in the reactor commissioning," said Leonid Khimchenko, Deputy director of the Russian ITER Domestic Agency.
The supplied equipment was developed and manufactured at JSC “NIIEFA” by order of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom within the framework of the International ITER Project. Its manufacture is carried out in accordance with the Procurement Agreement on switching equipment concluded in 2011 between the Institution “Project Center ITER” – the Russian ITER Domestic Agency – and the International ITER Organization. The manufacture and supply of the entire system "Switching equipment, busbars and energy–absorbing resistors for power supply and protection of the superconducting magnetic system of the ITER reactor" – the most expensive and one of the most complex in the project – is the responsibility of Russia.
For reference: ITER is a project of the world's first international thermonuclear experimental reactor of a new generation, being constructed by the efforts of the international community in Provence (France), near Marseille. The objective of the project is to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of using fusion energy on an industrial scale, as well as to develop the necessary technological processes for this. Institution “Project Center ITER”, a private institution of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, performs the functions of the Russian ITER Domestic Agency responsible for ensuring Russia's in-kind contribution to the project.
