The most complex magnetic system of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) – the largest nuclear fusion reactor in the world – is complete. The ITER nuclear fusion experiment megaproject – which mimics the process that powers the sun and stars and provides light and heat to Earth – marked the delivery of 2024 toroidal field coils, which are part of its magnetic system, in July 19. Nuclear fusion research aims to develop a safe, abundant and sustainable energy source.
O ITER, under construction in the South of France, is a scientific collaboration of more than 30 partners, and constitutes the largest experiment in the field of fusion energy. In addition to the European Union (EU), it involves China, Japan, India, South Korea, Russia and the USA. On the European continent, Fusion for Energy (F4E) is the EU organization that manages Europe's contribution (responsible for almost half of the project) to ITER.
A F4E, headquartered in Barcelona with offices in Germany and France, aims to realize the potential of fusion energy in Europe through research and development projects; the development of demonstration fusion reactors for subsequent industrialization; and the provision of technical knowledge to partners in academia, research and industry.
The coils delivered from Japan and Europe are key components of ITER. Each coil, 17 metres high and nine metres in diameter, weighs about 360 tonnes. Together, they act as a magnet (the most powerful ever produced) and generate a total magnetic energy of 41 gigajoules. ITER’s magnetic field will be about 250.000 times stronger than Earth’s. Eight coils, plus one spare, were manufactured in Japan under the management of ITER Japan. The remaining ten coils were produced in Europe under the F4E joint venture.
At F4E in Barcelona, the automation of backoffice processes has been, since 2017 and continuously, the responsibility of LBC, a Portuguese digital management and transformation company. Carlos Valleré Oliveira, CEO of LBC, believes that “F4E’s operational organization level is very sophisticated and rigorous, which requires the design, development and continuous improvement of the digitalization and automation of processes and reports”. Learn more here.