Central Solenoid Module En Route to ITER

Another 110-tonne central solenoid module is on its way to ITER. The module, loaded onto an ocean-going vessel at the port of Houston, Texas, will be the fifth added to the central solenoid stack. Six modules are required to form the tower-like central solenoid magnet.

The US Domestic Agency signed a Procurement Arrangement with the ITER Organization in March 2010 for the supply of the central solenoid magnet system. The scope included six modules, a spare module, a precompression and support structure, specialized assembly tooling, and busbar and cooling connections.

Only three modules remain to be delivered. The fifth module, transported from General Atomics in Poway, California, is expected at ITER later this month. The sixth and final module completed testing in May and will arrive later this year, enabling the assembly teams to complete the stack and install the support structure. The spare module will be completed at a later date.