Fusion for Energy, the European Union organisation managing Europe’s contribution to ITER says it has started collaborating with Siemens on the development of three High Voltage power supplies for the neutral beam injector system, on of three ITER heating systems.
One High Voltage unit will be manufactured for the Megavolt ITER Injector and Concept Advancement (MITICA) research facility in Italy, which is aiming to help scientists test the NBI components before they go into production mode for ITER.
The other two units will be manufactured as part of the ITER powerful NBI system, designed to deliver 33MW of power in order to inject neutral particles to the core its super-hot plasma.
F4E said the contract, which is worth around EUR18 million, is expected to last seven years. It also includes delivery of the High Voltage bushing assemblies used for connecting the power supplies to the transmission lines (being procured by Japan’s Domestic Agency and supplied by Hitachi).
The bushing design also presents a degree of novelty due to the very high voltage insulation levels (1MV) in a compact structure using SF6, a potent greenhouse gas used as electric insulator, F4E said.
