Major Milestone for ITER: World's Largest Fusion Reactor Ring Closed
One of the most critical stages in assembling the future reactor has been completed at the construction site of the international ITER fusion project in southern France. Engineers installed the final, ninth sector of the vacuum vessel into the tokamak's central shaft, forming a complete ring. This event brings humanity one step closer to an inexhaustible and clean energy source. This is reported by Ixbt.com reports .
This giant structure is shaped like a torus — or simply a "donut" — inside which plasma heated to temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees will be contained in the future. This is several times hotter than the center of the Sun. Once fully assembled, the total weight of the vacuum vessel will be approximately 5000 tons.
Engineering Art and High Precision
Each sector is not just a part of the chamber, but a complex engineering module that includes the vacuum shell, thermal shields, and elements of the superconducting magnet system. According to ixbt.com, each module is 11.3 meters high, 6.6 meters wide, and weighs approximately 400 tons. Despite such massive size, all parts must be joined with jeweler-like precision.The greatest challenge within the project was not the mass of the structures, but the extreme precision required for their installation. Even a minimal deviation could interfere with the operation of the magnetic system that confines the superheated plasma. If the plasma touches the reactor walls, the process will stop and the device will be damaged.
Four of the nine vacuum vessel sectors were manufactured by the South Korean company HD Hyundai. The first two sectors were ordered in 2010, and later, the preparation of two more modules was entrusted to this company, replacing European contractors. By 2024, all structures were successfully delivered to the ITER site.
The Path to Future Energy
The completion of the vacuum vessel assembly is one of the project's key milestones. Now, engineers will begin installing internal systems, mounting the remaining elements of the magnetic system, and preparing the reactor for initial tests. Once these processes are finished, one of the largest scientific experiments in human history will begin.The ITER project is being implemented through the cooperation of seven participants: the European Union, the USA, Russia, China, Japan, India, and South Korea. The main goals of the project are as follows:
- Demonstrating long-term controlled fusion;
- Creating a technological foundation for commercial fusion power plants;
- Obtaining an environmentally friendly and virtually inexhaustible energy source.
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