Category: Events

IFMIF/EVEDA Project Committee #33

The 33rd Project Committee (PC#33) was held on the 21st and 22nd of March 2024 at the QST Rokkasho Institute for Fusion Energy. For the first time since their appointment last year, all the EU PC members could attend the meeting in person, giving them the opportunity to visit the site and see the accelerator installation in its phase B+ configuration.
The first day was dedicated to the LIPAc progress with many highly technical presentations. The main topics highlighted were as follows:
• The outcomes of beam operations during the completion of phase B+ stage 2 and the start of the stage 3 toward high duty cycles,
• The finalization of the refurbishment of some SRF Linac components, in particular the completion of the repair of the last solenoid, which will enable resuming soon the assembly in the clean room,
• The status of the RFQ couplers conditioning and its current limitation,
• The update of the LIPAc commissioning plan to give priority to the installation of the SRF Linac in order to limit impact on the overall project schedule.
On the second day, the Fusion Neutron Source Design activities were presented by each Home Team showing especially the collaboration in the use of LIPAc as a testing facility for many new sensors and diagnostics. The steady progress was also presented for the enhancements activities with an upgraded injector, a new Radio-Frequency Power System based on Solid-State Power Amplifier and the upgraded Machine Protection System. The day finished with the PC members reviewing and approving the Record of Conclusions acknowledging the progress of the work.

PC#33 participants both in person and remotely

IFMIF/EVEDA Project Committee #32

The 32nd Project Committee (PC#32) of the IFMIF/EVEDA project was held on October 24-25, 2023 at the QST Rokkasho Fusion Institute and remotely for the newly appointed EU PC members.

During the first day, the presentations gave the status and outlook of the project to the PC members as well as to about 20 experts present in person, and remotely, from Japan and Europe.

The following achievements were highlighted by the PC#32:

  • The start of the beam operation phase B+ stage 2 on August 1, 2023 after the installation of the repaired circulator and the modified RFQ couplers;
  • The implementation of the experimental programme reaching so far 113 mA current transported up to the Beam Dump at 0.1% duty cycle with good stability.
  • The repairs made to fix the manufacturing quality issues with some of the SRF Linac components;
  • The sound progress of the enhancement activities specially the start of the prototyping of the RFQ RFPS based on solid-state technology;
  • The significant progress of the Fusion Neutron Source Design activities both on the Lithium Facility and on the Engineering Design, in particular taking advantage of the LIPAc operation to test new diagnostics.

On the second day, the PC members drew up and approved the Record of Conclusions, making recommendations, and acknowledging the accomplished work.

Project Committee #32 participants both in person and remotely

Broader Approach Steering Committee #31

The 31st Broader Approach Steering Committee (BASC#31) was held on the 11th of May 2023 at the QST Rokkasho Fusion Institute. Many members and invited participants of the BASC#31 attended this meeting in person. It gave them the possibility to visit the accelerator facility, its associated control rooms, and the clean room facility for the LIPAc SRF Linac assembly.
The organisation of the BASC#31 in Rokkasho provided the opportunity to highlight the progress of the IFMIF/EVEDA project. The latest achievements with respect to both LIPAc and Fusion Neutron Source Design activities were presented by the Project Leader. Regarding the LIPAc project, the start of the injector Continuous Wave campaign in order to identify the best plasma electrode, the repair of the circulator and its delivery onsite, and the improvement of the RFQ couplers thermal behaviour with new inner conductors enabled to propose a new schedule to resume beam operation in a timely manner. As for the Fusion Neutron Source activities, the progress of both experimental and simulation works was pointed out on the Lithium Facility and on the Engineering Design.
Once the phase B+ is completed (high duty cycle 125-mA deuteron beam at 5 MeV), beam operation will be interrupted for a long period to proceed with the SRF Linac installation. This last equipment will enable to reach 9 MeV at high duty cycle. Meanwhile, the improvement of the maintenance and the enhancements of the injector, RFPS and Control System aim to increase the availability of the LIPAc in the future operation campaigns.

31st Meeting of the Broader Approach Steering Committee

Project Committee #26

22 & 23 October 2020

The 26th Project Committee (PC#26) was held at Rokkasho IFERC Site on October 22nd and 23rd and by video conference. An update of the project status was presented as well as the outlook for 2021.

The main topics discussed were the progress since the last PC#25 and how the Team has adapted to the constraints imposed by the situation with the Covid-19 outbreak. The following main outcomes were reported:

  • Steady progress for the preparation of the beam commissioning at high duty cycle with a deuteron beam at 5 MeV;
  • Start of the commissioning phase of the individual systems;
  • New features to allow the remote participation access to the LIPAc beam operation.

In the frame of the new phase of the Broader Approach, the resuming of the engineering design activities for the fusion neutron source was presented with objectives for the next 5 years.

1st Fusion Neutron Source Technical Coordination Meeting

The first Fusion Neutron Source (FNS) technical coordination meeting was held on September 28-29 via videoconference. This meeting follows the EU-JA Workshop on Neutron Source Status and Technologies held under the bilateral agreement in Rokkasho on August 2019.

The objective of this virtual meeting is to further identify areas of collaboration between EU and JA for the neutron source development, and to develop the contents of the future IFMIF/EVEDA activities to be performed in the frame of the BA. In order to progress in the technical content, the FNS activities carried out or planned in EU and in JA were reviewed.

  • Workplans were jointly prepared by the EU and JA contact persons for each topic, providing technical descriptions;
  • Each workplan includes schedule and required budget;
  • Some topics may benefit from LIPAc operation, but LIPAc can only provide limited support as a test bench, and its focus remains the technical feasibility of the neutron source.
  • The strategy is under discussion for sharing the tasks and optimizing the project resources

Actions were agreed:

  • Technical description of workplans are to be further detailed for clarifying the proposed sharing and collaboration activities;
  • Expected EU and JA resources and budget will be refined and balanced, before an agreed proposal is presented to the IFMIF/EVEDA Project Leader.

A 2nd FNS technical coordination meeting is scheduled for November 2021 in Granada (Spain).

IFERC and IFMIF/EVEDA Technical Coordination Meeting on remote participation

A joint IFERC/REC and IFMIF/EVEDA Technical Coordination Meeting was held on July 28-30 via videoconference. The purpose was the following:

  • To take stock of the activities and developments performed in both IFMIF-EVEDA and IFERC projects for remote participation for LIPAc accelerator;
  • To clarify the high-level requirements for remote participation;
  • To discuss the detailed technical issues on various aspects of remote participation, and translate them into practical requirements;
  • To identify preferred solutions, agree on the hardware and software needed in data sharing, and on a distribution of tasks and responsibilities.

The plan of collaboration between REC and LIPAc will be part of a Procurement Arrangement of REC project. The expertise of IFERC team will allow LIPAc team to improve operation and maintenance. The Covid-19 outbreak has highlighted the importance to enhance the Information Technology remote system to allow support from Europe, and also to complete and improve the tools to operate and to manage efficiently the LIPAc accelerator.

In the Technical Coordination Meeting various visions, expectations and needs have been expressed. More discussion and work will be needed to share a common understanding of the high-level requirements, technical tools and preferred solutions to be developed.

This Joint coordination is the beginning of new phase which will enable us to exchange intensively to bring our projects and the Broader Approach site at the cutting edge of technology.  Remote participation systems are not just tools that can improve LIPAc operation. They are research subjects, proposing innovating concepts which will become the future standards.

Real-time information shared between QST and F4E

Second LIPAc Commissioning and Beam Operation Workshop at QST (Rokkasho)

20, 21 & 22 November 2019

During stop for the scheduled maintenance, a long-planned LIPAc Commissioning and Beam Operation workshop was organized at the Broader Approach Rokkasho site on Nov. 20-22. The workshop gathered again the LIPAc collaboration after the completion of the commissioning Phase B (5 MeV, 125 mA, D+, 0.1% DC, including the commissioning of the RFQ and buncher cavities, as well as a large part of the beam instrumentation).

Commissioning and Beam Operation workshop #02 session

The LIPAc team has been pleased to welcome Dr. M. Munoz (ESS), Prof. E. Kako (KEK) and Dr. Y. Kondo (J-PARC) to share valuable experience. During 3 days, the accelerator scientists and experts from Japan and Europe exchanged about the operational aspects of the LIPAc:

  • Status, results, outcome and achievements of the phase B
  • Difficulties and lessons learned from commissioning and operation
  • Organization of the LIPAc Unit for operation and maintenance
  • Coordination and tools for efficient operation
  • Coordination and tools for efficient maintenance

Furthermore, the steps ahead for LIPAc were addressed, including:

  • On-going preparation of the beam transport lines for Phase B+ (5 MeV, 125 mA, D+, high duty cycle)
  • Detailed definition of the phase B+ Commissioning Plan
  • Preparation of the SRF Linac cryomodule assembly

The goal of the workshop is also to strengthen the communication and team spirit among IFMIF/EVEDA collaborators who are geographically distant in Europe and Japan. The conclusions and actions identified by the chairman in each session will be gathered into an action plan.

Attendees of the Commissioning and Beam Operation workshop #02

Project Committee #24

15 & 16 October 2019

The 24th Project Committee (PC#24) was held at Rokkasho Broader Approach Site on October 15 and 16. The project status and achievements were presented as well as the outlook from phase B+ onward. The main update topics discussed were:

  • RF system improvement
  • Phase B milestone beam perveance record
  • Beam Dump installation resumed
  • Phase B end and the maintenance period start
  • Technical difficulties
  • Next objectives towards continuous wave operation
  • Objectives of High Energy Beam Transport line and Beam Dump validation
  • Long-term improvement actions
  • Preparation of the Medium Energy Beam Transport extension line
  • Status of superconducting solenoids procurement for the SRF Linac Cryomodule
  • Preparatory status for the clean room assembly of the Cryomodule

The action plan for 2020 was presented for installation, maintenance and operation.

Attendees PC#24
  • The PC members near the clean room
  • Inside the RF area

Project Committee #23

18 & 19 March 2019

The 23nd Project Committee (PC#23) was held at Rokkasho IFERC Site on March 18th and 19th, during which an update of the project status was presented as well as the outlook from 2019 onward.

The main topics discussed were the progress since the last PC#22 with the achievement of the annual maintenance campaign, the completion the HEBT and Beam Dump installation in the accelerator line and the resumption of the Beam Operation with proton beam and the first deuteron injection into the RFQ. The preparatory work for the assembly of the Cryomodule in the clean room at Rokkasho was also presented.

Attendees PC#23

The PC members in the LIPAc Control Room participating to the beam operation