HD Hyundai Heavy's fusion reactor heart enters final assembly

A key component of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, known as ITER, in which HD Hyundai Heavy Industries played a central manufacturing role, has entered its final assembly stage.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries said Thursday it attended the "Korea-ITER Fusion Day" event held Wednesday (local time) at the ITER construction site in Cadarache, southern France.

The event marked the assembly of the last vacuum vessel sector manufactured by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries into a sector module — joined with thermal shields and superconducting magnets. The completed module was then moved to the tokamak pit, the space where ITER's major components are assembled for final integration. There, it will be combined with eight other sector modules to form a donut-shaped vacuum vessel weighing approximately 5,000 tons.

ITER is an international project to build the world's largest nuclear fusion experimental reactor in Cadarache, France, with seven member parties: South Korea, the EU, the United States, Japan, China, Russia and India.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries manufactured four of the nine vacuum vessel sectors that make up ITER. The company first won a contract in 2010 for two sectors allocated to South Korea, then secured two additional sectors allocated to the EU in 2016, delivering all four by 2024.

The vacuum vessel is a core ITER component that surrounds ultra-high-temperature plasma exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius while maintaining a high-vacuum environment. Each sector stands 11.3 meters tall, measures 6.6 meters wide and weighs approximately 400 tons — yet must be manufactured to exacting tolerances to allow precise joining with the other sectors. The components must also meet French nuclear pressure vessel regulations, international nuclear technology standards and ITER's own rigorous quality and safety requirements.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries completed the vacuum vessel sectors by drawing on technology and large-structure fabrication and quality-management capabilities built up through shipbuilding and offshore plant construction. In recognition of that contribution, the company received a certificate of appreciation at Wednesday's ceremony.

Won Gwang-sik, executive vice president of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, spoke on behalf of the participating companies at the event. "The successful manufacture and installation of the ITER vacuum vessel sectors is an important milestone that demonstrates the technological competitiveness of South Korean industry and the fruits of international cooperation," Won said. "HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will continue to draw on its accumulated technology and experience to contribute to realizing sustainable energy for future generations."

Meanwhile, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has also entered the small modular reactor market. In May, it signed a framework agreement with TerraPower on the supply of sodium reactors, under which HD Hyundai Heavy Industries became the preferred negotiating partner for manufacturing and supplying key equipment for TerraPower's sodium reactor primary systems. The sodium reactor is considered the safest and most technically mature among small modular reactor designs.