Air Liquide Awarded a New Contract for the ITER Project, Strengthening Its Leadership in Extreme Cryogenics
October 16 2015 - 10:35AM
Business Wire
Regulatory News:
Air Liquide (Paris:AI) announces the signature of a new
contract with ITER-India for the design and manufacturing of 19
cryogenic lines for the ITER project. This latest contract comes
after two earlier ones, signed in 2012 and in 2013, bringing to
around 250 million euros the total amount signed by Air Liquide for
the ITER project. This latest announcement illustrates Air
Liquide’s leadership in extreme cryogenics for major scientific
projects.
The objective of the international ITER project is to
develop an experimental reactor in order to demonstrate the
scientific and technological feasibility of fusion as a new
source of energy. To obtain the very powerful electromagnetic
fields required to confine and stabilize the fusion, it is
necessary to use superconducting magnets that only function at
extremely low temperatures.
The new cryogenic lines will transport helium at
extremely low temperatures close to absolute zero in some
cases (-269°C). Their fabrication requires the use of high tech
processes and sophisticated design.
After having already completed the large scale cryogenic
installations for the CERN1, Air Liquide, an expert in
cryogenics, is a major industrial partner of the ITER project.
It notably supplies the helium and nitrogen refrigerators used in
ITER’s cryogenic plant, which will be the largest centralized
refrigeration system ever built, as well as the 19 cryogenic
lines.
François Darchis, member of the Air Liquide Executive
Committee supervising Innovation, commented: “We would like to
thank ITER-India for its confidence. This success demonstrates once
again the unique expertise of Air Liquide in the field of very
low temperatures and its capacity to provide very high tech systems
to address ambitious scientific challenges. Air Liquide is thus
contributing to the major global scientific projects and to the
development of the energy solutions of the future.”
Prof. D. Bora, Director, Institute for Plasma Research,
India, commented: “ITER’s cryogenic system is one of the most
complex systems known today after the CERN, and we are happy that
Air Liquide is associated with us in this drive for
fusion.”
Air Liquide and scientific
cryogenicsAir Liquide has unique expertise in the field
of very low temperatures and recognized knowhow in the design,
production, and installation of high-capacity gas liquefaction and
refrigeration systems (the CERN's LHC, in Switzerland, and the
world’s largest helium liquefaction plant, in Qatar, for example).
Air Liquide has also supplied cryogenic equipment for the biggest
fusion projects of the last 25 years (Tore Supra, JET, SST-1, KSTAR
and JT-60SA under the ITER Broader Approach Agreement and ITER
currently underway).
ITER and the TokamakBased in
Cadarache, in the South of France, the ITER project centers around
the Tokamak (toroidal magnetic confinement chamber). Using
electromagnetic fields, this sophisticated scientific instrument
will make it possible to generate plasma to create the conditions
necessary for the controlled fusion of atoms which generates the
same type of energy as the sun. This fusion process generates
little waste and rules out the risk of a nuclear chain reaction.
ITER will test the fundamental technologies to initiate the next
stage, called "DEMO": a demonstration fusion reactor capable of
producing energy for commercial purposes. The ITER project brings
together contributions from Europe, the United States, Russia,
Japan, China, South Korea, and India.
ITER-IndiaITER-India
(Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar, India) is the Indian
domestic agency for ITER, in charge of managing the equipment
provided by India for the project. It ensures the execution of the
ITER project from India.
World leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry
and Health, Air Liquide is present in 80 countries with more than
50,000 employees and serves more than 2 million customers and
patients. Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen have been at the core of
the company’s activities since its creation in 1902. Air Liquide’s
ambition is to be the leader in its industry, delivering long-term
performance and acting responsibly.
Air Liquide ideas create value over the long term. At the core
of the company’s development are the commitment and constant
inventiveness of its people.
Air Liquide anticipates the challenges of its markets, invests
locally and globally, and delivers high-quality solutions to its
customers and patients, and the scientific community.
The company relies on competitiveness in its operations,
targeted investments in growing markets and innovation to deliver
profitable growth over the long-term.
Air Liquide’s revenues amounted to € 15.4 billion in 2014, and
its solutions that protect life and the environment represented
more than 40% of sales. Air Liquide is listed on the Paris Euronext
stock exchange (compartment A) and is a member of the CAC 40
and Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 indexes.
1 CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) is the
European Organization for Nuclear Research.
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