°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ

Subscribe options

Select your newsletters:

Please enter your email address:

@

Your email address will only be used for the purpose of sending you the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Organization publication(s) that you have requested. °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Organization will not transfer your email address or other personal data to any other party or use it for commercial purposes.

If you change your mind, you can easily unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe option at the bottom of an email you've received from °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Organization.

For more information, see our Privacy policy.

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 [...]

    Read more

  • 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 [...]

    Read more

  • 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 [...]

    Read more

  • 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 [...]

    Read more

  • 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 [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

Monster transformer en route

Two separate electrical networks will distribute power throughout the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ installation—the steady state electrical network (SSEN) that will bring down the high-tension grid voltage from 400 kV to the standard 20 kV of industrial facilities, and the pulsed power electrical network (PPEN) that will feed power to the heating and control systems during plasma pulses.

Procured by China, three giant transformers (460 tonnes, 15 metres high) will feed power to the heating and control systems during plasma pulses. (Click to view larger version...)
Procured by China, three giant transformers (460 tonnes, 15 metres high) will feed power to the heating and control systems during plasma pulses.
The first is standard for industrial installations; the second is specific to fusion machines which require a substantial input of electrical power for brief periods of time.

When °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ reaches the deuterium-tritium operation phase, the instantaneous power consumption during pulses will be in the range of 450 MW, or about half the output of a conventional nuclear reactor.

Four SSEN transformers procured by the US as part of its in-kind contributions to °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ, are now installed on the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ platform.

These rather heavy components weigh close to 90 tonnes, for the main body, and almost twice as much when filled with insulating oil and fitted with all their accessories.

However large and heavy, they will be dwarfed by their soon-to-be neighbours that will tower some 15 metres above ground (with all insulators extended). The three PPEN transformers that are expected soon from China are massive structures that will weigh approximately 460 tonnes each when completely filled and fitted out.

Procured by the Chinese Domestic Agency, the first of the three units left the port of Tianjin on 17 April and is expected on site in early June. The other two are undergoing factory tests at manufacturer Baoding Tianwei.

Leaving for a long journey. Transformer #1 left Tianjin on 17 April and is expected on site in early June. (Click to view larger version...)
Leaving for a long journey. Transformer #1 left Tianjin on 17 April and is expected on site in early June.


return to the latest published articles