The first mirrors of optical diagnostics in ITER are exposed to high radiation and fluxes of particles which escape the plasma, in the order of 10 ²⁰ m ⁻² s ⁻¹ . The picture shows the cutting of materials. After four and a half years of assembly, in December of 2025, ITER scientists and engineers hope to launch "First Plasma" — the initial event demonstrating the machine's functionality. We use them to give you the best experience. (Courtesy: Culham Centre for Fusion Energy) Officials at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) in Oxfordshire, UK, have announced that they have achieved “first plasma” on the upgraded Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST). The volume of the plasma contained in the center of the ITER vacuum vessel (840 m 3) is 10 times larger than any previous tokamak. In this work, the influence of aluminium and tungsten deposits on the reflectivity of molybdenum mirrors as well as the possibility to clean them with plasma exposure is investigated. The first plasma operation is expected in 2016. ITER aims to be the first nuclear fusion reactor to produce more energy than is required to power its plasma. In view of ITER First Plasma operation, the plasma initiation scenario has been revisited. The project’s schedule is to create the first “small star” inside of the ITER tokamak, known as First Plasma by 2025, and then to start the Deuterium-Tritium Operation in 2035. En route to First Plasma, 63% of the work is done! New technologies often use devices and substances that are very different from what classical physics first revealed to scientists. After completion of the engineering phase, the manufacturing of Europe’s first set of the ITER Divertor Cassettes at Walter Tosto (Italy) has started. More than half of the work required to achieve First Plasma in ITER has been completed, as measured by an activity-based metric agreed when the 2016 Project Baseline was adopted. Start-up phase in 2024. Once assembled, ITER's gigantic Tokamak will comprise more than one million components across 100 feet in a round chamber and contain 10,000 tons of superconducting magnets. Keywords: ITER, First Mirror, steam ingress, plasma cleaning, reflectivity, XPS, grain boundary 1. The ITER Project is approximately 70% complete for First Plasma. Theoretical Background of ITER. ITER is on schedule for “first plasma” in 2025, and by the 2030s they hope to generate ten times more power than goes into it, laying the groundwork for a clean energy revolution. The Council of the ITER Organisation said on 19 November that it had reviewed in a videoconference the performance of the ITER Project toward first plasma in view of the COVID-19 restrictions. The purpose of the plasma initiation is to ionize the prefill gas, or to create plasma, to confine it with the tokamak magnetic field configuration, and to control it [1–3].Plasma initiation is a well-established part of the operation of most present day tokamaks and hence, usually gains little interest. Nuclear fusion is an extremely attractive option for future generations to compete with the strong increase in energy consumption. The fourth, lesser-known state of matter, is called plasma and consists of ions and free electrons. Undated model of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) site at Vandellos obtained on Nov. 25, 2003 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology. ITER, which in Latin means ‘the way,’ will be the world’s biggest experiment on the path to fusion energy. If you continue using our website, we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on this website. Obtain the first plasma in December 2025. ITER Project ~70% Complete for First Plasma; Now Preparing for Machine Assembly After ITER partners celebrated the start of machine assembly in July, activities are underway to prepare vacuum vessel sectors for assembly. ITER Research Plan: First Plasma Update of the ITER Research Plan, TPMLHZ First Plasma: • ECRH assisted breakdown and burnthrough • Minimum control capability • Engineering operation • Commissioning with plasma • Circular H or He plasma W. Treutterer IAEA … A celebration of the start of machine assembly was held July 27, 2020. Under a revised schedule established by the Iter organisation last year, first plasma is planned for 2025, with deuterium-tritium fusion experiments commencing in 2035. Plasma physicists regard ITER as the first magnetic confinement device that can possibly demonstrate a “burning plasma,” where heating by alpha particles generated in fusion reactions is the dominant means of maintaining the plasma temperature. However most of the microwaves pass through and are collected in an absorbing box … Start of the nuclear fusion operation in 2035. Department PPPL ITER Projects Category Engineering Full-Time / Part-Time Full-Time. The microwaves ionize the background gas similar to a fluorescent light tube. The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is a world-class fusion energy research laboratory managed by Princeton University for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Buildings and civil works across the ITER worksite, constructed by Europe, are about 75% complete. Construction costs are expected to be around €20 billion ($22 billion), with components contributed by the Iter members on an 'in-kind' basis. Construction of the international experimental tokamak nuclear fusion … Following the “first plasma” milestone, the team offers this plan going forward. ITER will be the first fusion device to produce net thermal energy, meaning the total thermal power produced by a fusion plasma pulse is greater than the thermal power injected to heat the plasma. ITERÕs primary mission is to achieve an unprece- ... basis of the ITER plasma control system. Hot stuff: The first plasma has been recorded at the upgraded Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak. The core fusion plasma must not actually touch the first wall. It is expected to generate 500 megawatts of thermal power for every 50 megawatts of thermal power injected to heat the plasma. Following seven year of upgrade work on MAST at a cost of £55m, … It will be the first fusion device to generate more heat than used to start the fusion reaction, relying on an impressive range of technologies which are essential to deliver fusion power in future. The first vacuum vessel sector arrived in France on July 21, enabling the start of machine assembly. Proper control of the fusion plasma is mandatory to reach the ambitious objectives set while preserving the machine’s integrity, which requests a large number of plasma diagnostic systems. The ITER Council has met for the twenty-fourth time since the signature of the ITER Agreement. After assembly completion in December 2025, ITER scientists hope to launch "First Plasma" to demonstrate the reactor's functionality. Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives. If it can overcome some immense technical challenges, it’s no exaggeration to say that its success will change the world. The spherical tokamak’s thin centre column is different than the workhorse donut-shape of mainstream devices like JET and ITER , but the European fusion community considers it a worthwhile alternative to explore on its Roadmap to Fusion Energy. First assembly phase in 2018. Each ITER Divertor Cassette measures 0.8 x 2.3 x 3.5 m and weighs roughly 8 t with all components installed. The first plasma on ITER will be generated by sending high power microwave beams across the plasma centre. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the world's largest nuclear fusion project … The ITER organization plans a gradual, step-by-step approach to achieving fusion. Introduction Metallic First Mirrors (FMs) will play a critical role in the optical diagnostic systems of ITER. ITER and many other current and projected fusion experiments, particularly those of the tokamak and stellarator designs, use intense magnetic fields in an attempt to achieve this, although plasma instability problems remain. Overview. @article{osti_1371880, title = {Design and first plasma measurements of the ITER-ECE prototype radiometer}, author = {Austin, M. E. and Brookman, M. W. and Rowan, W. L. and Danani, S. and Bryerton, E. W. and Dougherty, P.}, abstractNote = {On ITER, second harmonic optically thick electron cyclotron emission (ECE) in the range of 220-340 GHz will supply the electron temperature (Te). Photo: ITER Organization To avoid reflectivity losses in ITER's optical diagnostic systems, on-site cleaning of metallic first mirrors via plasma sputtering is foreseen to remove deposit build-ups migrating from the main wall. The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of AltEnergyMag. Fusion researchers throughout Europe followed MAST Upgrade's first plasma discharge via remote video connection. 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