“The unit has to manage a load of nearly 10 tons, and has to operate in a vacuum without breaking the vacuum of the ITER vessel,” says Telstar’s Costas. “They also have to withstand heavy radiation from the thermonuclear fusion; there’s a radioactive environment inside the vessel even when the fusion reaction is stopped.” One example of this problem and its solution: most oils used in hydraulic equipment can’t withstand this radiation, so for ITER, Telstar is using water-based lubricants.

One potential goal of ITER is to replace nuclear power generation, and large companies that work with nuclear power have been able to supply a great deal of the necessary experience to design ITER’s buildings and systems and to help determine the safety procedures. Empresarios Agrupados, founded in 1971, was created as an engineering company to serve the nuclear industry. “Apart from building the Spanish nuclear power plants, we’ve now been involved in all the new nuclear reactors in Europe,” says Teresa Dominguez, advanced projects manager of Empresarios Agrupados. The company’s background in filling the engineering needs of such large and complex structures gave it the experience to take on designing buildings for the ITER facility and calculating the electrical distribution system for the experimental fusion power plant.

Many Spanish companies working in fusion first delved into that sector via Spain’s National Fusion Lab, which began research in the early 1980s in partnership with the U.S. Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Spain’s reactor was built by the mid 1990s, with about 60 percent of the contracts awarded to Spanish companies. “At the time, those contracts were not the ones requiring the highest level of technology,” says Joaquin Sanchez, director of the Fusion Lab. “They were for more accessible requirements, such as the electrical equipment and the buildings.”

But after acquiring experience in Spain, many of those companies moved on to compete for projects at the European level, with increasingly higher levels of technological complexity. “They became more confident in working in this market; it’s no longer new to them,” says Sanchez.

The budget for ITER, explains Sanchez, is made up of contributions from member countries, about 15 percent of which is in cash. The remaining 85 percent can be an in-kind contribution—but only if companies have the technological experience and knowledge to meet the requirements. So CIEMAT, the Spanish research organization that directs the country’s fusion research, has begun a program of grants to develop new technologies for fusion. “It’s not easy to start from scratch and get a contract,” points out Sanchez. “It’s much better if you’re already in the system, and know exactly what the needs are.” This has already paid off: in 2010, Sanchez says, the contracts awarded to Spanish companies totaled about 90 million euros.

Extract from an article published in the magazine Technology Review.
http://www.technologyreview.com/microsites/spain/

“The unit has to manage a load of nearly 10 tons, and has to operate in a vacuum without breaking the vacuum of the ITER vessel,” says Telstar’s Costas. “They also have to withstand heavy radiation from the thermonuclear fusion; there’s a radioactive environment inside the vessel even when the fusion reaction is stopped.” One example of this problem and its solution: most oils used in hydraulic equipment can’t withstand this radiation, so for ITER, Telstar is using water-based lubricants.

One potential goal of ITER is to replace nuclear power generation, and large companies that work with nuclear power have been able to supply a great deal of the necessary experience to design ITER’s buildings and systems and to help determine the safety procedures. Empresarios Agrupados, founded in 1971, was created as an engineering company to serve the nuclear industry. “Apart from building the Spanish nuclear power plants, we’ve now been involved in all the new nuclear reactors in Europe,” says Teresa Dominguez, advanced projects manager of Empresarios Agrupados. The company’s background in filling the engineering needs of such large and complex structures gave it the experience to take on designing buildings for the ITER facility and calculating the electrical distribution system for the experimental fusion power plant.

Many Spanish companies working in fusion first delved into that sector via Spain’s National Fusion Lab, which began research in the early 1980s in partnership with the U.S. Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Spain’s reactor was built by the mid 1990s, with about 60 percent of the contracts awarded to Spanish companies. “At the time, those contracts were not the ones requiring the highest level of technology,” says Joaquin Sanchez, director of the Fusion Lab. “They were for more accessible requirements, such as the electrical equipment and the buildings.”

But after acquiring experience in Spain, many of those companies moved on to compete for projects at the European level, with increasingly higher levels of technological complexity. “They became more confident in working in this market; it’s no longer new to them,” says Sanchez.

The budget for ITER, explains Sanchez, is made up of contributions from member countries, about 15 percent of which is in cash. The remaining 85 percent can be an in-kind contribution—but only if companies have the technological experience and knowledge to meet the requirements. So CIEMAT, the Spanish research organization that directs the country’s fusion research, has begun a program of grants to develop new technologies for fusion. “It’s not easy to start from scratch and get a contract,” points out Sanchez. “It’s much better if you’re already in the system, and know exactly what the needs are.” This has already paid off: in 2010, Sanchez says, the contracts awarded to Spanish companies totaled about 90 million euros.

Extract from an article published in the magazine Technology Review.
http://www.technologyreview.com/microsites/spain/