First Block of 'Shielding Membrane' to Protect Artificial Sun Completed

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] The first block of the shield protecting the nuclear fusion reactor of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), currently under construction in France, has been completed in South Korea. The National Fusion Research Institute announced on the 7th that it has succeeded in developing the initial prototype of the ITER blanket shield block, part of the international joint research and development project for nuclear fusion energy development.

The ITER blanket shield block is a shielding structure that protects the main ITER devices from ultra-high temperature plasma and neutrons produced by nuclear fusion reactions. It is connected like a puzzle to surround the inner wall of the vacuum vessel where plasma exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius is generated. A total of 440 shield blocks will be installed in ITER, of which South Korea will supply 220.

Domestic researchers developed a special stainless steel selected by ITER to manufacture blanket shield blocks capable of withstanding extreme environments. The inside of the shield block was designed considering the plasma shape, and the outside was designed to fit tightly against the vacuum vessel, taking into account all coils and piping to complete the complex shape manufacturing design.

During the manufacturing stage, technology was developed to precisely process large, difficult-to-machine materials into complex shapes. In particular, after trial and error, the research team secured technology to drill a 1.4-meter-long cooling water hole with a single drilling operation.

The development of the blanket shield block involved the ITER Korea Project Team and domestic companies such as EM Korea Co., Ltd. and Bitsro Tech Co., Ltd. They must successfully manufacture and supply the 220 shield blocks assigned to South Korea by 2025.

Jeong Ki-jeong, head of the ITER Korea Project Team at the National Fusion Research Institute, said, "After overcoming various technical challenges in cooperation with domestic industries, we were able to succeed in developing the ITER blanket shield block. We will continue to strive to contribute to securing future nuclear fusion commercialization technologies and strengthening the capabilities of domestic industries through the development of ITER procurement products."