The ITER Organization is an international consortium backed by 35 countries (European Union, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States).
ITER: Earth's most ambitious energy project.
Cadarache, France
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor demonstrates the feasibility of a nuclear fusion reactor that can generate unlimited, clean power for all.
Client
ITER Organization
Timeline
2011 - 2025
Benefit
- Testing the feasibility of nuclear fusion
- Potential for unlimited, clean energy
- Accelerating the move away from fossil fuels
Expected outcomes
- 500MW of energy produced
- Renewable, low-cost power
Introducing ITER.
Meeting humanity's energy needs.
500megawatts
ITER will produce high amounts of fusion power.
150 million degrees
Fusion occurs at extreme temperatures.
Unlimited clean energy
It offers greener energy without harmful side effects.
The challenge.
A large, complex project with novel technologies.
ITER will be one of the world's most significant pieces of energy infrastructure. It aims to test an as-yet unproven method of large scale energy production.
The programme consists of building the infrastructure of the half-hectare platform, some 39 industrial buildings, and two nuclear facilities.
One structure will house the Tokamak, a 30-metre-high fusion machine weighing 25,000 tonnes. The other will be a plant for the preparation and reprocessing of tritium, an isotope of hydrogen.
Meeting rigorous safety requirements
The new structures will need to house a substantial amount of process equipment. They must be designed to withstand a wide range of accident scenarios; earthquakes, leakages in the cooling system, loss of vacuum in the Tokamak vessel and more.
The programme, therefore, incorporates many safety requirements. It also requires a high degree of collaboration.
Thousands of collaborators
An enormous project, ITER requires contributions from multiple organisations around the world.
For example, the BIM model features over 200,000 elements, while the project has generated over 10,000 documents accessed by 1,000s of people. Ensuring smooth and efficient collaboration on such a large project is challenging.
Imagine.
State of the art engineering.
Our experience with building multiple nuclear facilities and scientific testing centres means we can bring specialised expertise to this unique area of infrastructure. We are taking a lead role in the ENGAGE consortium (Egis / Assystem / Atkins / Empresarios Agrupados) and are responsible for all aspects of the project, including:
- Architecture
- Civil engineering
- External works
- Electricity
- Design studies
- Delivery of the buildings
We are also working collaboratively with the client and our ENGAGE Consortium partners to manage the project and its construction.
Applying our BIM expertise and SGTI4® solution
We have deep knowledge of nuclear building engineering, earthquake engineering, digital data modelling (BIM) and managing large-scale projects.
3D models play a key role in the design of cutting edge facilities like the ITER. Thanks to our BIM expertise, we are responsible for controlling and managing the data acquisition and configuration of the building model. We can track and update thousands of changes made to the 3D model every day.
Smooth collaboration is essential on major projects of this type, so all participants are using SGTI4®, our collaborative construction project management solution.
Designed by Egis, SGTI4® manages, monitors and controls all exchanges and data for the operation.
Create.
Managing a major engineering project.
As part of the ENGAGE Consortium, we played a significant role at all stages of this world-first project. At the outset, our technical engineers used BIM software to generate 3D models of 39 buildings within the complex, including offices, industrial buildings and nuclear facilities, and outdoor spaces. This involved the generation of more than 8,000 3D models and 10 million components.
We used ANSYS software to design the state of the art Tokamak Complex building, which includes 173,000 nodes and 220,000 elements. It also included the innovative design of a reinforcement shell to house the nuclear fusion reactor.
Orchestrating 3D model design
On such a large project, organising the engineering and construction around a 3D model, from data acquisition to configuration management, is a real challenge. Different national governments, engineers and companies used different design techniques and standards. Orchestrating between all participants requires continual communication and creating a continually updated 'single version of the truth' in a central 3D model.
To maintain quality assurance, two sets of deliverables are reviewed at each stage of the design and construction process: the 3D model and the corresponding 2D documents. This provides greater assurance of quality and means everyone is 'working from the same page'.
Achieve.
Building the world's largest nuclear fusion reactor.
When the project is completed in 2025, the ITER will be the largest of its kind in the world. As long-term collaborators on this major project, we have helped design with maximum safety in mind to eliminate the risks of earthquakes, accidents or physical attacks. This has seen our highly experienced technical engineers work at the cutting edge of nuclear facility design, creating new structures never seen before to make the complex more resilient.
Throughout the process, we have succeeded in continually updating and maintaining tens of thousands of documents, 2D plans and 3D BIM models in an organised, secure and centralised database. We have also managed a project bringing together a wide range of companies, building trades, suppliers and teams from multiple countries.
This research facility aligns with our values: a world where energy is clean and green. If successful, the ITER could provide a template for generating cheap, safe electricity for the world.
