ITER Tokamak Reactor

Why in the News?

Scientists working on the world’s largest nuclear fusion project ITER has completed its main magnet system with India playing a key role in building critical infrastructure.

About ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor):

• ITER is the world’s largest nuclear fusion research project, aimed at demonstrating that nuclear fusion can be a safe, carbon-free, and sustainable energy source.
• It involves 35 nations, including the EU, US, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Russia.
• It uses deuterium and tritium (hydrogen isotopes) to undergo fusion at temperatures over 150 million °C, 10 times hotter than the sun’s core, producing large amounts of energy.
• Its goal is to achieve a fusion gain (Q) of 10, producing 500 megawatts of fusion power from just 50 megawatts of input heating power, a 10x gain.
• Launched in 1985 and officially founded in 2006, the project began construction in 2007 and is expected to start its operations in 2033.
• The tokamak is a doughnut-shaped magnetic fusion device used to contain the hot plasma required for nuclear fusion.
• It uses powerful superconducting magnets to confine plasma and prevent it from touching the reactor walls.

India’s Role in ITER/Tokamak:

• India has been a full partner in ITER since 2005, contributing expertise and technology to key aspects of the project.
• It has designed and manufactured the cryostat, a 30-meter-high, 30-meter-diameter vacuum shell made of stainless steel that houses the ITER tokamak and maintains the ultra-cold environment needed for superconducting magnets.
• It has developed in-wall shielding to protect ITER’s components from heat generated during fusion reactions.
• It provides cryogenic systems to cool the superconducting magnets and RF heating systems to heat the plasma to fusion temperatures.
• It has contributed to developing the superconducting magnets, which are essential for plasma confinement inside the tokamak.