Brenda Marie Rivers
General Atomics has produced one of the six modules that will serve as critical components of a 59-foot solenoid magnet being developed under the international ITER nuclear energy fusion project.
The company said Monday it developed manufacturing processes for the Central Solenoid magnet under a contract with a Battelle-University of Tennessee joint venture that operates the Energy Department-funded Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The pulsed superconducting magnet will be installed into the ITER tokamak to produce 15M amperes of plasma and support nuclear fusion research.
“The successful completion and operation of ITER should help lead to the development of fusion energy, a nearly limitless, clean energy source for our world,†said Jeff Quintenz, senior vice president of General Atomics’ energy group.
Wayne Reiersen, U.S. ITER magnet team lead, added that the group spent eight years engineering the modules’ design as well as testing operations for the superconducting magnet.
General Atomics also operates the DOE-owned DIII-D National Fusion Facility, which serves as the counrty’s biggest research facility for magnetic fusion technology.
