Jacobs wins contract to design ITER maintenance systems

Technology firm Jacobs was selected to design and engineer remotely-operated tools for ITER fusion power project.

A four-year framework with a possible two-year extension, the contract covers work on up to 25 diagnostic ports and systems that are critical for operating and sustaining the ITER experimental machine now being built in Provence, France.

The project will capitalize on remote-handling experience and knowledge of the diagnostics and port cell areas gained from previous work.

Jacobs Energy, Security and Technology senior vice president, Karen Wiemelt, said in a statement: “Through our team in Aix-en-Provence, combined with the full strength of Jacobs’ global capability, we will work with ITER to channel our technology-enabled knowledge and experience toward benefitting people and the planet.”

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ITER, which is supported by more than 30 nations, aims to create the conditions for a self-sustaining fusion reaction, which is a crucial stepping stone toward developing fusion power stations and creating a new source of emission-free, almost unlimited energy for the world.

The ITER Organization is now overseeing the integration and assembly of components delivered to the site. This includes the assembly of the Tokamak, with its estimated one million components, as well as the installation and integration of plant systems such as radio frequency heating, fuel cycle, cryogenic, cooling water, vacuum, control, and high voltage electrical.