Cadarache as European site for ITER

1 - Historical background

At the beginning of the 1980s, the CEA was running the TFR tokamak at Fontenay aux Roses, the Petula tokamak and the Wega stellarator in Grenoble. This was still the period of the "small" machines. When it came to designing the Tore Supra project, the problems came up as to where to build it and how to unite all teams on one site. From a technical point of view Tore Supra could have been built in Saclay or in Grenoble, but the scientific community was already thinking in terms of what was to come after JET , so the Cadarache site was seen quite naturally as being the only French site capable of accommodating a large thermonuclear machine.

Thus, from 1984 to 1986 the current team was put together, firstly to have Tore Supra built, and then to provide for the running and participation in associated programmes. As early as 1992, while the ITER project teams were being put together, the CEA carried out a first technical assessment of Cadarache’s capability to accommodate this future machine.

2 - A European framework

On 11th July 2000, the highest authority in the European fusion programme warmly accepted the French proposal to study Cadarache as a possible European site on which to build ITER. They gave the authority to a European group, called EISS (European ITER Site Study Group) to carry out the necessary studies for the preparation of a possible European application. At the ITER partner level, the selection of a preferential site was forecast for the first half of 2002. Site studies will thereafter be focussed on the specific features of the chosen site. The start of construction is forecast for 2005.

The EISS group is made up of members of European Associations, of the Commission, the Garching support group and the central ITER group. This European study group structured the work so as to:

• examine all technical aspects associated with the specific configuration of Cadarache and check in detail whether the site meets all the specific requirements of ITER. Specifications for sites established by the ITER project team are classified into 2 categories:

Essential requirements, which are to be meet, failing which the application is rejected. Amongst these are,  available space (40 hectares for the installation itself), electricity supply for permanent auxiliaries (120 MW), transport access for large components and the existence of a legislative framework for construction, operation and dismantling.

Dimensioning guidelines, which do not necessarily need to be met in full, but which were used by the ITER team to define a generic site allowing a dimensioning reference for the machine. Amongst these guidelines, we find in particular the water supply for cooling (16m3/min), seismic constraints and the industrial, social and cultural environment.

The Cadarache centre, which already hosts 18 basic nuclear installations, satisfies most of the constraints imposed by the generic ITER installation, often with comfortable margins. The seismic constraints are higher than the generic site and technical and financial assessment of the consequent impact on dimensioning of buildings and equipment is underway. Transport of very large components is being closely analysed and several types of transport methods are currently being studied:

• to enable the CEA to prepare and launch the first stages necessary to obtain authorisation approval, in compliance with French legislation on safety;
  
  

• to set out and justify the cost of ITER at the specific European site in Cadarache.

Activities of the group EISS are managed as a European project, with substantial participation from European industry. Many Associations have contributed to the preparation of a sound application from Cadarache as a site for ITER.

The CEA Cadarache site
 (CEA Domain: 1,600 hectares of which 900 hectares are fenced off)