Work on ITER fusion test centre progressing well, says VTT
Construction work on the maintenance systems of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) fusion test reactor in Tampere, Finland, is progressing well, according to the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT). The remote operation and virtual technologies are set to play a crucial role in the maintenance of the ITER reactor and could feature in technology spin offs, industry hopes. The construction of the steel structures of the testing centre for ITER's maintenance systems has already begun, and installation work on the robotics and control systems is due to start next spring. The large scale test equipment for ITER is located in VTT and TUT's international Remote Operation and Virtual Reality Centre (ROViR) in Tampere. VTT, the biggest contract research organisation in Northern Europe, also announced the launch of the international researcher exchange in early November, aimed at training two Finnish, two British and two French researchers who will become the experts for the testing centre. They will be on rotation from their organisations, the CEA in France, Oxford Technologies in the UK and Tampere University of Technology (TUT) and VTT in Finland. The agreement on the construction of the ITER fusion test plant was signed in Paris on 21 November. The plant is expected to become operational in 2016 and construction costs are estimated at €5billion over a period of 10 years. The experimental reactor will attempt to reproduce on Earth the nuclear reactions that power the Sun and other stars.