Sweden's Freemelt Wins Validation Order from France's Alsymex for ITER Tungsten Components

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 4, Swedish additive manufacturing company Freemelt received a manufacturing validation order worth SEK 3.3 million from France's Alsymex for an ITER-related tungsten component qualification project, with final delivery scheduled for the first quarter of 2027. The project is part of the early qualification work under ITER's Small Scale Mock-up (SSMK) program, focusing on evaluating whether tungsten materials and related components can meet the requirements for plasma-facing components in future fusion devices.

Freemelt will manufacture and deliver sub-assemblies consisting of tungsten tiles combined with a copper matrix for subsequent joining processes and high heat flux testing. The project aims to validate the material performance, manufacturing consistency, and subsequent engineering application adaptability of advanced tungsten components, providing manufacturing data and process foundations for ITER's future adoption of tungsten as a direct plasma-facing material.

ITER previously decided to change the material solution for some plasma-facing components from beryllium to tungsten. Tungsten has a high melting point and excellent high-temperature resistance, but its material processing is challenging, placing higher demands on forming, joining, and quality control. The SSMK program screens and qualifies different manufacturing routes through small-scale component fabrication and high heat flux testing, providing a basis for subsequent larger-scale component manufacturing.

Alsymex is part of France's ALCEN technology group and has long participated in ITER-related engineering, undertaking manufacturing tasks for plasma-facing components and other key systems through multiple contracts signed with Fusion for Energy. This order was placed directly by Alsymex to Freemelt as a subcontracted qualification validation task within the ITER supply chain, rather than a direct procurement by Fusion for Energy.

Freemelt will complete the manufacturing of the relevant sub-assemblies by combining electron beam powder bed fusion (E-PBF) technology, tungsten material process development, and post-processing capabilities. The existing order covers manufacturing and delivery requirements, but publicly available information has not yet disclosed specific part quantities, individual component dimensions, tungsten tile geometry, high heat flux test parameters, or final acceptance criteria.

This order differs from other fusion project orders Freemelt has previously received. In September 2026, Freemelt received a SEK 55 million order from Fusion for Energy for JT-60SA tungsten component manufacturing, involving approximately 33,000 tungsten-based components; in October, it received a SEK 28 million order from the European Spallation Source (ESS) for 7,000 tungsten components. The November 4 Alsymex order is an ITER qualification validation project with a smaller amount and task scale, but its technical focus is on validating the manufacturing feasibility and subsequent testing adaptability of tungsten components for future ITER applications.