ITER begins operations at its magnet cold test facility

June 1, 2026, 9:45AMNuclear News
ITER’s TF07 in the cryostat of the magnet cold test facility, prior to the lid being closed. (Photo: ITER)

The ITER Organization has announced that its magnet cold test facility is now in operational mode, allowing the preinstallation testing of superconducting magnets at the fusion reactor’s low operating temperature of 4 Kelvin (−269°C; −452°F) and full current of 68 kiloampere (kA).

ITER reaches major construction milestone

June 3, 2020, 3:58PMNuclear News

The 1,250-ton cryostat base is positioned over the ITER tokamak pit for installation. The base is the heaviest lift of the tokamak assembly. Photo: ITER

ITER, the world’s largest international scientific collaboration, is beginning the assembly of the fusion reactor tokamak that will include 12 essential hardware systems provided by US ITER, which is managed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The first major machine element to be installed is the 1,250-ton base of the cryostat, which was placed into the tokamak assembly pit on May 26. ITER is located in southeastern France.