QST seeks feedback on a full-scale manufacturing trial for ITER’s heating system

Before building ITER’s heating hardware, QST wants to make one of its major structures at full scale. On 13 November, Japan’s National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) published a draft specification for a manufacturing trial of the equatorial launcher’s port plug and invited comments. Thick metal plates move as they are welded. The trial will examine how to control that distortion and achieve the required dimensions.

The equatorial launcher sends millimetre waves into ITER’s plasma for heating and current drive. Its port plug is a major structural component that fits into a port on the vacuum vessel. QST plans to test whether the plug can be manufactured at full scale before fabrication starts on the launcher’s full set of components.

The draft calls for optical measurements to track distortion during welding and inform the sequence and choice of weld locations. A final measurement alone tells a fabricator little about when the shape began to shift. Recording measurements and procedures along the way lets the trial identify improvements for production. For manufacturers and inspection specialists, the work calls for in-process measurement and dimensional control as well as welding capability.

Comments are due by 15:00 Japan time on 4 December and must arrive by then if sent by post. A briefing on the draft is scheduled for 15:00 on 25 November. Registration must arrive by noon on 20 November. QST lists the notice on its website through 3 December and expects to issue a tender notice around January 2027. See the QST announcement for the submission and briefing requirements.

Related: ITER and its development milestones · Calls and procurement