Design and construction management for a cryogenic plant on ITER site

Context and challenges

ITER represents a large energy project. This project is aiming at developing the largest experimental fusion reactor that has ever been built, in order to offer an inexhaustible, safe, and environmentally friendly source of energy. ITER is a unique global collaboration involving a European Union Joint Undertaking, which bears half the cost of the project, and six non-European countries: the United States, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia. The project requires unprecedented engineering services.

Within this major site, the largest helium and nitrogen production plant in the world is being built

The cryogenic plant will produce liquid nitrogen (equipment supplied by Europe) used in the "pre-cooling" processes of the liquid helium production unit (under the responsibility of the ITER Management) as well as for cooling the thermal shield. A complex system of cooling lines (supplied by India) will ensure the distribution of Helium. The plant will be much larger and more powerful than those required for the existing superconducting tokamaks.

In this context, ITER Management has appointed Assystem, as part of 2 entities as representative to:

• perform design studies and construction management activities for the buildings (including services) and site infrastructures
• perform construction management activities for IO’s systems including the TOKAMAK machine