South Korea has won a 52 million euro ($59.6 million) contract to supply a key component for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) under construction in France, the Ministry of Science and ICT said on June 19.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed to provide power supply systems for the reactor as part of Korea's ongoing contribution to the ITER project, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea. This MOU builds on a previous procurement contract in which Korea also provided power supply systems for the ITER initiative.
Under the new agreement, South Korea will provide the power conversion system for the superconducting magnets of the ITER reactor for a period of seven years and six months. South Korean companies that participated in the previous contract will also participate in the latest contract, contributing more advanced design and manufacturing technology, along with their operational expertise, the Ministry of Science and ICT said.
The contract is expected to further strengthen Korea's presence in the global technology ecosystem by leveraging its advanced design, manufacturing and system integration capabilities accumulated in the ITER power supply field.
Since joining the ITER project in 2007, South Korea has acquired core technologies, including 61 patent applications and 52 registered patents, through the procurement of nine core components and equipment used in nuclear fusion reactors, according to the ministry. In total, South Korea has secured contracts worth 1 trillion won (US$724.5 million) from the ITER organization and participating countries.
The ITER megaproject is an international collaboration with an investment of up to 20 billion USD located in Saint-Paul-les-Durance, southern France . About 5,000 scientists and technology experts from more than 30 countries and partners are working here. The reactor design process lasted 2 decades, with component production activities on 3 continents.
The facility is scheduled to be operational in 2033. The ITER plant will produce about 500 megawatts of thermal power. If operated continuously and connected to the grid, this would be equivalent to about 200 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 200,000 households./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/han-quoc-gianh-duoc-hop-dong-gan-60-trieu-usd-cho-lo-phan-ung-nhiet-hach-quoc-te-post1045239.vnp
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