The Fusion Energy Directorate of the National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), have completed manufacture of the first toroidal field (TF) coil for the ITER (experimental fusion reactor)-the world's largest superconducting coil ever built. To mark its completion, a formal ceremony was held at MHI's Futami Plant in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Among the attendees were QST President HIRANO Toshio and, representing MHI, President and CEO IZUMISAWA Seiji and Senior Vice President KATO Akihiko, who serves as Senior General Manager of the Power Systems' Nuclear Energy Systems Division. Honored guests included Director-General of the ITER Organization, Bernard Bigot, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, AOYAMA Shuhei, members of the Japanese Diet, representatives of related economic organizations, and various experts in their respective fields.
The newly completed TF coil is the first main structural component for ITER's magnet system, and its completion is a major milestone forward for the reactor's construction. Plans call for five TF coils to be produced at the Futami Plant, which will be shipped from Kobe Port to southern France in the run-up to the start of ITER operations in 2025. Completion of the first TF coil will give Japan-through a joint industrial, academic, and governmental effort-an even greater leading role in the ITER Project, which is pursuing technologies of the utmost importance for sustainable global development.
