en.Wedoany.com Reported - As the world's largest fusion reactor, ITER requires its magnets to be cooled to 4K (-269°C) to achieve a superconducting state, thereby confining plasma at 150 million °C. To achieve this temperature range, the reactor is equipped with a large-scale cryogenic system, with the ITER cryogenic plant located next to the tokamak building covering an area equivalent to a football field.

The liquid nitrogen (LN₂) unit of this plant is provided by Fusion for Energy (F4E) in collaboration with Air Liquide of France. After several years of intensive installation and testing, the European team has successfully cooled two liquid nitrogen refrigerators and completed system commissioning. The unit can provide 1300 kW of cooling power at 80K and operate reliably under various conditions. It will soon be handed over to the ITER Organization for use as a pre-cooler for the helium refrigerators.

The nitrogen circulation system runs through equipment including compressors, cold boxes, and a 26-meter-high gas storage tank. The commissioning process sequentially completed mechanical and electrical control circuit checks, pipeline cleaning and working fluid injection, room temperature operation tests, and performance tests after gradual cooling to the operating temperature. Air Liquide experts operated the entire process from the control room, with F4E Project Manager Grygorii Kuzmenko overseeing the entire process.

Frédéric Debert, Commissioning Manager at Air Liquide, stated that the successful commissioning of the liquid nitrogen unit is a key milestone, reflecting the close cooperation between the company and F4E, as well as their commitment to the ITER project.

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