Construction of ITER, an experimental fusion reactor prototype, began in 2007 in Cadarache, France, as the result of an agreement between the EU, Russia, the USA, Japan, China, India, and South Korea. The cost of ITER is estimated at approximately 15 billion euros, with the EU, as the host party, contributing 45% and each of the other 6 partners contributing 9%.

The agency entrusted with managing EU supplies for ITER is Fusion for Energy (F4E), based in Barcelona. F4E was established in 2007 for a 35-year period. Since 2008, F4E has launched contracts and grants within the EU totalling 3,255 million euros (for the 2008-2014 period), of which Italian industry has successfully secured 978 million euros in contracts. This figure is even more significant when considering only high-technology component supplies: out of a total of 1,716 million euros, 959 million went to Italian companies.

The construction of ITER in Europe represents a vital opportunity for employment and growth for European industries operating in both high-technology sectors (superconducting cables and magnets, high heat flux components, special mechanical components, remote handling, power supplies, controls, diagnostics, etc.) and more conventional sectors (civil engineering and associated plant systems). Furthermore, the opportunities arising from the frequent need to form transnational consortia, combined with the know-how acquired in developing supplies to high standards of both production and organisational quality, are having a significant impact on innovation and growth for the companies involved.

However, the participation of Lombardy-based companies in ITER tenders is not yet at the desired level, when compared to the results achieved in other regions. Lombardy currently ranks fifth, behind Piedmont, Liguria, Marche, and Veneto. For this reason, Confindustria Lombardia has initiated an ongoing collaboration with ENEA—the national body tasked with supporting the Italian industrial system in fulfilling ITER supplies, and a key player in the design and implementation of R&D—and the Lombardy Energy Cleantech Cluster. This collaboration involves disseminating opportunities by publishing current tenders and hosting awareness-raising events, such as the “Italian ITER Business Forum” held in June 2014 and the follow-up seminar in November of the same year.

For further information: http://www.enea.it/it/Ricerca_sviluppo/nucleare/fusione-nucleare/progetto-iter