Recent Publications

Analysis of background plasma behavior under external fields in the low energy beam transport section of LIPAC

Tomonobu Itagaki, Tomoya Akagi, Kai Masuda, Nicolas Chauvin, Luca Bellan, Fabio Cismondi, Hervé Dzitko, Yann Carin

QST, Fusion for Energy, CEA, INFN

Background plasma behaviour in the low energy transport section of the LIPAc is analysed with 3-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. The simulation showed some characteristic effect under external field elements in the LEBT: a positive biased chopper absorbed the electron plasma in the surrounding drift region. Such absorption by the chopper is limited spatially by the solenoid lenses. However, some extent of electron plasma flows through the solenoid. Analytically estimated flux of the electron leakages through solenoid is compared to the simulation results. Results of experiments still show mysterious transient motion of beam pulse shape that is not shown in the simulations, while saturated state is roughly reproduced in it. Additionally, we developed a one-dimensional electron fluid simulation to investigate effects by thermalization of the background electron plasma, but this also could not reproduce the transient motion observed in the experiment. As a secondary outcome, the fluid simulation showed qualitatively close results to that of the particle in cell simulation in saturated states with much smaller computational resource.

Evaluating the structural reliability of piping systems for ITER Port Cell 16: Design challenges and optimization in Test Blanket Systems

E. García-Blanco, F. Tata-Ducru, D. Guerra, J.P. Martins, F. Fantini, A. Portone, I. Ricapito, R. Rotella, J. Van der Laan

Fusion for Energy, ITER Organization

ITER water cooled lithium lead Test Blanket System transient thermal-hydraulic analysis

Tommaso Glingler, Gianfranco Caruso, Danilo Nicola Dongiovanni, Salvatore d’Amico, Italo Ricapito, Paul Wouters, Francesca Fantini, Joelle Elbez-Uzan, Sandrine Rosanvallon, Matteo D'Onorio

University of Rome La Sapienza, Fusion for Energy, ENEA Centro Ricerche Frascati, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, EUROfusion Consortium Research Institutions

The planned experimental activities of the ITER Test Blanket Module program will be a key step in understanding the physics and technologies required for tritium breeding blankets, which are essential for achieving tritium self-sufficiency in a demonstration fusion power reactor. The ITER Test Blanket Module program foresees the installation and operation of different breeding blanket concepts, such as the Water-Cooled Lithium Lead and the Helium-Cooled Pebble Bed, to demonstrate tritium breeding, high-grade heat extraction, and integrated system operation under ITER conditions. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the thermal-hydraulic analyses performed in the frame of EUROfusion, for the Water Cooled Lead Lithium Test Blanket Module, with emphasis on the main phenomena occurring during representative accident sequences. The main figure of merit is that the structural integrity of confinement barriers is preserved. Accident scenarios were analyzed using MELCOR version 1.8.6 for fusion applications. The main sequences considered, were identified through an extensive failure mode and effect analysis, include ex-vessel Loss of Coolant Accident and Loss of Heat Sink. The results highlight the robustness of the current design.

Diagnostics for large tokamaks: from JET to JT-60SA 1

Carlo Sozzi, A Jokinen, G Phillips, K Tanaka, Juan Ayllon-Guerola, Andrea Belpane, Attila Buzás, Santiago Cabrera, mario - cavinato, Daniel Carralero, et al.

Fusion for Energy, Consorzio RFX, Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre for Energy Research, Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas Medioambientales y Tecnologicas, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

The main scientific purpose of JT-60SA is complementing ITER in the preparation of the operation of a DEMOnstration fusion reactor, in particular investigating the conditions for a controllable high beta steady-state regime able to optimize the fusion gain. In order to accomplish this task, a sequence of operation and machine enhancement periods in the next few years are planned to reach the target performance of the machine before a transition to a full tungsten wall. EUROfusion and Fusion for Energy are jointly contributing to the enhancement plan of JT-60SA, in particular, for what concerns the present contribution, to provide JT-60SA with state-of-art diagnostics in support of its scientific and technical objectives. This paper reports the status of the projects being implemented in view of the next scientific campaigns or under consideration through the various stages from feasibility to detailed design.

Instrumentation integration and dynamic force reconstruction in the TBM attachment

Eduardo Rodríguez-López, David Alonso, Victor Domínguez, Luis Maqueda, Magdalena Roca, Fernando Rueda, Pablo Ruiz, Alejandro Vázquez, Álvaro Yáñez, Joelle Vallory, et al.

Esteyco Mechanics, Fusion for Energy

Accomplishment of high duty cycle beam commissioning of Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc) at 5 MeV, 125 mA D+

Tomoya Akagi, Florian Benedetti, Yann Carin, Janic Chambrillon, Fabio Cismondi, Andrea De Franco, Hervé Dzitko, Takashi Ebisawa, Dominique Gex, Kazuo Hasegawa, et al.

National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST) Rokkasho Institute for Fusion Energy, Fusion for Energy, CEA Paris-Saclay, Ciemat

The Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc) is being commissioned under the Broader Approach agreement between Europe and Japan to validate the low-energy section of the accelerator for the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF). LIPAc is designed to accelerate a 125 mA deuteron beam up to 9 MeV in continuous-wave (CW) operation. This paper reports the results of high-duty cycle beam commissioning at 5 MeV in the Phase B+ configuration using the RFQ. A maximum duty cycle of 8.75% and a beam current of 119 mA were achieved, corresponding to an average RFQ beam power of 40–45 kW, which is among the highest average beam powers achieved by operational RFQs. The commissioning also identified the RFQ RF couplers as the bottleneck for further duty cycle increases, leading to the preparation of brazed high-duty couplers. These achievements establish a solid foundation for the next commissioning phase, including SRF linac integration and a path toward CW operation to demonstrate the IFMIF accelerator concept.

European test blanket modules: An overview of fabrication technologies development and EUROFER97 steel supply

Milan Zmitko, Yves Poitevin, Laurent Forest, Antonella Li Puma, Rémi Boullon, Jérôme Tosi, Denis Sornin, Philippe Emonot, Emmanuel Rigal, Laurence Cogneau, et al.

CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, APAVE Exploitation France, ALSYMEX

The design of the EC upper launcher and EX-vessel waveguide systems for ITER

S. Julià, F. Albajar, M. Jimenez, T. Cicero, P. Estebanez, R. Morón Ballester, I. Eletxigerra, A. San Vicente, C. Gómez, E. Carbonell, et al.

Fusion for Energy, RI Research Instruments GmbH, ATG Science & Engineering, IDOM, Institute for Plasma Science and Technology ISTP—CNR

The electron cyclotron (EC) upper launcher (UL) and ex-vessel waveguide (EW) are integral components of the ITER EC system (Sanchez et al 2025 Qualification of the European gyrotrons and power supplies of the ECH and CD system of ITER IAEA FEC ), which plays a key role in achieving and maintaining the high temperatures required for nuclear fusion within the tokamak, providing plasma heating and current drive, and magnetohydrodynamics stabilization, which are crucial for ITER’s operational success. The fusion for energy contribution to the current ITER baseline configuration comprises four ULs and five sets of EWs. The UL and EW systems, currently in its final design phase under the frame of a procurement agreement between Europe and ITER organization, have released the final design documentation package, which is here described, as input to the final design gate review that took place in July 2025. The full set of documents released is composed by: (1) a design description (DD) dossier composed by a UL & EW DD document and supported by a set of 3D models, drawings and diagrams; (2) a design justification dossier encompassing a set of end-to-end engineering analyses verifying the functionality and structural integrity of the components according to the applicable requirements, and the RAMI analysis of both systems; and (3) a product lifecycle dossier covering documentation for subsequent phases including manufacturing, assembly, installation, commissioning, operations, maintenance and decommissioning. Furthermore, the validation of the design is supported by currently on-going activities of prototyping and testing of the most critical components.

The research plan for the ITER TBM program

Luciano M. Giancarli, Mu-Young Ahn, Paritosh Chaudhuri, Seungyon Cho, Takanori Hirose, Paul Humrickhouse, Yoshinori Kawamura, Francesca Fantini, Italo Ricapito, Rossella Rotella, et al.

ITER Organization, QST, KFE, Fusion for Energy, Institute for Plasma Research

Adapting the D1S methodology for high-fluence fusion environments with tungsten: application to ITER

Alberto Bittesnich, Marco Fabbri, Patrick Sauvan, Antonio Jesus Lopez-Revelles, Aljaž Kolšek, Neil Taylor, Alfredo Portone

Fusion For Energy, UNED - Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia, ATG Science & Engineering, SL, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya

Application of the TUD-W benchmark for nuclear data and code assessment

Marta Campos Fornés, Marco Fabbri, Luigino Petrizzi, Aljaž Kolšek, Davide Laghi

Fusion for Energy (F4E), ATG Science & Engineering S.L., EU Commission