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News & Media

Latest °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Newsline

  • Fusion supply chain | A glimpse into the future for commercial fusion reactors

    Most of the USD 7 billion in investment in private fusion initiatives has gone to companies that are building devices from the ground up. But recently, another [...]

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  • Outreach | °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ @ October science festivals

    Every October, before schools pause for two weeks of holiday, towns and cities in France open their municipal spaces to scientific experts of all stripes who ar [...]

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  • Image of the week | °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Director-General visits Russia

    The °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Director-General was in Russia last week, meeting with stakeholders and holding technical meetings with colleagues in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. As [...]

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  • Image of the Week | Sector 5 is on its way

    The first vacuum vessel sector produced in Europe travelled last week between Monfalcone, Italy, and the French port of Fos-sur-Mer. The 440-tonne component had [...]

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  • Anniversary | °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Document Management system turns 20

    Whatever its nature, every large project generates huge numbers of documents. And when project collaborators operate from different countries, as was the case f [...]

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Of Interest

See archived entries

"You are °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ!"

''°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ has acquired a concrete and spectacular reality,'' said Bernard Bigot in his all-staff address on 21 January 2016. ''This building is °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ. These steel parts are °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ. Most important of all—you are °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ!'' (Click to view larger version...)
''°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ has acquired a concrete and spectacular reality,'' said Bernard Bigot in his all-staff address on 21 January 2016. ''This building is °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ. These steel parts are °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ. Most important of all—you are °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ!''
The last time the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ staff was assembled on the worksite was September 2011, a little more than one year after construction began in earnest. At that time, only one building stood on the platform—the near-finished Poloidal Field Coils Winding Facility.

Four years and a few months later work is underway on the second underground level of the Tokamak Complex; the Assembly Hall rises 60 metres above platform level; the Cryoplant, Cleaning Facility, Site Services, Cooling Systems and Control buildings are all at various stages of preparation; and large machine components are already stored in the Cryostat Workshop, ready to be assembled and welded.

The gathering of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ staff on-site was long overdue. The month of January and its traditional New Year's wishes, and the presence in the vast hall of the Cryostat Workshop of  from the cryostat base, provided the opportunity.

"Look how massive they are—and consider they represent only one-eighth of the total mass of the 3,850-tonne °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ cryostat," said °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Director-General Bernard Bigot in his address. "Indeed, we are building a big machine..."

There was awe, and there was pride at this vision.

There was awe and pride at the vision of the large pieces of steel for the cyostat base stored in the Cryostat Workshop. (Click to view larger version...)
There was awe and pride at the vision of the large pieces of steel for the cyostat base stored in the Cryostat Workshop.
°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ had come a long way since the Geneva Summit 30 years ago. "It has acquired a concrete and spectacular reality," added Bernard Bigot. "This building is °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ. These steel parts are °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ. Most important of all—you are °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ!"

Along the long way there may have been doubts and sometimes discouragement. "But °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ is too important to let these feelings take hold of us. What we are working for is much bigger than we are. What is at stake with °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ—and with fusion—is energy safety for the generations to come. And energy safety is one of the first conditions for a better life for all."

With this in mind, the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ staff (some 550 out of 650 staff members were present) closed ranks for the official photograph—a very impressive one, which conveyed the pride, commitment and enthusiasm of the men and women from 35 nations working to translate into reality "the dream of three generations of fusion physicists."

How the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ staff grew — view slideshow below.


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