Rosatom has said it is delivering a PF1 poloidal field coil to the ITER fusion reactor under construction in France. A ceremonial launching of a pontoon with a Russian PF1 poloidal field coil took place at the Srednevskiy shipbuilding plant in St Petersburg. The ceremony was attended by high-ranking representatives of the Government of the Russian Federation, Rosatom State Corporation, and the Administration of St Petersburg.
After being reloaded onto a transport ship in the port of Bronca, the magnetic coil will go to the ITER construction site.
At the end of the ceremony, Anatoly Krasilnikov, director of Private Institution ITER-Centre (part of Rosatom) noted that the successful manufacture and shipment of the PF1 coil indicates that despite severe foreign political pressure, the domestic industry continues its systemic development: “Despite the unprecedented sanctions and restrictions imposed by representatives of Western countries, Russia is seriously deepening the study and implementation of high-tech industries, including in the industrial sector,” he noted.
“This is an event of tremendous importance both for domestic enterprises that participated in the manufacture of this most complex component of the future thermonuclear reactor, and for the entire project as a whole. This is an outstanding result of many years of fruitful, well-coordinated work of leading Russian institutions and industrial enterprises, a spectacular demonstration of our scientific and technological potential,” Krasilnikov said.
The PF1 coil (diameter 9 metres, weight 200 tons) is one of the six poloidal field coils in the magnetic system, which serves to confine the plasma in the ITER reactor. The coil is a complex product based on eight superconducting two-layer double-entry biscuits. This is one of the 25 systems forwhich Russia is responsible within the framework of the international ITER project. The most important technologies and equipment for the manufacture of the coil were developed at the DV Efremov Scientific Research Institute of Electrophysical Apparatus (NIIEFA - part of Rosatom). Direct manufacturing was carried out at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipbuilding Plant (SNSZ) in St Petersburg.
The agreement on the manufacture and supply of the PF1 coil between the Russian ITER Agency and the International Organization of ITER was concluded in 2011. This is one of two poloidal field coils manufactured in the countries participating in the project. The remaining four, due to their large size, are assembled directly at the construction site. The ITER Design Centre, a Rosatom private institution, performs the functions of the Russian National Agency for ITER, responsible for ensuring Russia's in-kind contribution to the project.
Image: Launch of the PF1 poloidal field coil from the Srednevskiy shipbuilding plant in St Petersburg (courtesy of Rosatom)