ITER Talks (10): The ITER Test Blanket Module Program
Channel: iterorganization
Date: 21/11/2022

ITER will procure the tritium fuel necessary for its research program from the global inventory. But the fusion power reactors of the future will have to produce all of the tritium fuel they require for operation from within their own vessels.

ITER's Tritium Breeding Module (TBM) Program, involving the ITER Organization and all seven ITER Members, is a research activity that will run in parallel to the main ITER research program. In this latest ITER Talk, Luciano Giancarli, head of the Tritium Breeding Blanket System Section, explains how ITER will provide a unique opportunity to test the feasibility of tritium breeding. 

First, he walks us through the principles behind tritium breeding—what a breeding blanket looks like, how to achieve it in principle, and in practice, and what are the potential candidates for breeding blanket materials. Next, he delves into the ITER TBM Program, which aims to test complete tritium breeding blanket mockups in reactor-relevant conditions. Space allocations in the machine and four initial TBM concepts have already been decided.

Finally, he describes the objectives of the test program and how they fit into the ITER Research Plan.