TER will count with more than one million components which to a great extent will be bespoke. This said, the transfer of existing technology towards their design and development will give companies a creative level playing field. With this thought in mind Maciej Potocki, the President of the Wrocław Technology Park, and Sylwia Wójtowicz, the F4E Industry Liaison Officer for Poland organised an Info Day highlighting the business opportunities in international projects. The focus was on ITER, introducing the entrepreneurial angles of the biggest fusion project, and future collaboration between Poland’s Space Agency and the European Space Agency (ESA).

The event brought together almost 50 representatives from 35 companies specialised in cutting edge technology with a proven track record in R&D. SMEs, managed by young and dynamic innovators, based at Wrocław Technology Park, which has become an incubator for talent in applied research, were present and actively involved. Four companies were given the opportunity to present the pioneering work they do. Missions to Mars, space infrastructure, extraction of materials and robotics are some of the areas they have been working in and much of their expertise can be recycled in ITER. How? Think of cameras, sensors and robotics in the field of Remote Handling, or even Cryogenics and Diagnostics. Benjamin Perier, F4E Market Intelligence Group, attended the event and offered a forecast of the tenders until 2020. His presentation created an appetite for further information which was given during the business to business meetings which followed.

The participants were encouraged to register on F4E’s Industry and Fusion Laboratories portal so as to stay informed of future calls, and on-going contracts, in case they wish to liaise with F4E and its suppliers. Last, but not least, they were informed of the forthcoming ITER Business Forum taking place on 28-30 March in Avignon, France.

Source: F4E

29 listopada 2016 r. w WPT - Wrocławski Park Technologiczny S.A.odbyło się seminarium poświęcone współpracy z ośrodkami badawczo – rozwojowymi w Europie. Do udziału w spotkaniu zaprosiliśmy przedstawicieli Fusion For Energy (F4E) - agencji zajmującej się dostarczeniem europejskiego wkładu na potrzeby budowy tokamaka ITER (drugi najdroższy projekt międzynarodowy po Międzynarodowej Stacji Kosmicznej), Polskiego Związku Pracodawców Sektora Kosmicznego, Polskiej Agencji Kosmicznej, którzy przybliżyli firmom rynek Europejskiej Agencji Kosmicznej (ESA) oraz przedstawicieli instytucji i sektora MŚP. Podczas seminarium zaprezentowane zostały korzyści płynące ze współpracy z ośrodkami F4E oraz ESA, proces aplikacji o kontrakty, jak również internetowy portal przemysłowy i związane z nim możliwości nawiązywania wartościowych kontaktów z przedstawicielami przemysłu w Europie.

Wrocławski Park Technologiczny S.A. zaprasza na Seminarium poświęcone współpracy z ośrodkami badawczo-rozwojowymiw Europie. Gośćmi spotkania będą specjaliści Fusion for Energy(F4E) - agencji zajmującej się dostarczeniem europejskiego wkładu na potrzeby budowytokamaka ITER. W spotkaniu wezmą również udział przedstawiciele PolskiejAgencji Kosmicznej, którzy przybliżą firmom rynek ESA.

Podczas seminarium zaprezentowane zostaną korzyści wypływające ze współpracyz ośrodkami F4E oraz ESA, proces aplikacji o kontrakty, jak równieżinternetowy portal przemysłowy i związane z nim możliwości nawiązywaniawartościowych kontaktów z przedstawicielami przemysłu w Europie.

Seminarium odbędzie się w dn. 29 listopada we Wrocławiu.

W razie zainteresowania uprzejmie proszę o potwierdzenie udziału poprzez odesłanie formularza zgłoszeniowegona adres Ten adres pocztowy jest chroniony przed spamowaniem. Aby go zobaczyć, konieczne jest włączenie w przeglądarce obsługi JavaScript. 

The Monaco International ITER Fusion Energy Days (MIIFED) gather representatives from the seven parties of the biggest energy collaboration, together with multiple companies and laboratories currently involved. Those flirting with the idea to contribute with their know-how also show up to get first-hand information about existing subcontracting opportunities and future contracts. This MIIFED edition came, however, with an aggressive business twist aiming to boost the entrepreneurial spirit of all participants: the organisers of the ITER Business Forum (IBF) joined forces to convert this three-day meeting point into the rendezvous of commercial deals.

The participation rate was impressive bringing together 556 participants from 26 countries representing 285 companies and fusion labs. To help attendees network and form future partnerships, the organisers offered the possibility of business to business (B2B) meetings. The majority of them grabbed this opportunity and more than 653 meetings took place. When needed, F4E representatives were there to assist and clarify any questions regarding Europe’s strategy. An exhibition consisting of 34 stands served as a complementary space for more informal exchanges. To give some context to the nature of the talks and offer a glimpse of the latest technical developments, three technical tours were planned for 60 participants taking them to the ITER construction site, the facilities of CNIM and SIMIC, where some of Europe’s components in the field of magnets are being manufactured.

A total of 75 speakers addressed the political landscape that surrounds ITER and a wide range of technical presentations tackled the progress of components and the contracts in the pipeline. H.S.H. Prince Albert II opened the event delivering an inspiring speech about climate change, the recent developments resulting from COP21 and the role of fusion energy and ITER. Under his reign Monaco will use best practice to tame its CO2 footprint and promote a sustainable model. Bernard Bigot, Director General of ITER International Organization, explained the wave of changes that have been initiated during his mandate and elaborated on the path towards a new ITER calendar. The merits of stronger integration between teams, the design revision of critical components and the comprehensive bottom-up review of all activities were spelled out. For Bigot “the challenge is to switch from a research oriented approach to more project management structure.” There were references to November’s 2015 ITER Council (IC 17) meeting where organisational improvements have been acknowledged and the recruitment of senior management together with the mapping of integrated operations have been deemed as positive. “The next target is to establish a new baseline and for this we need a political decision,” explained Bigot. The ITER Council has agreed to instill a better project culture and by 2016-2017 to approve the schedule that will be communicated to all parties. Meanwhile, the ITER Council will monitor the achievement of 29 key milestones to verify that ITER is on track. When will the schedule for first plasma be communicated? The revised calendar was presented last year and would require some further adjustments so that it is formally communicated in June 2016.

The European Commission’s Massimo Garriba, Director for Nuclear energy, safety and ITER, highlighted the financial, environmental and strategic importance of ITER. He stressed that approximately 75 % of the funding for ITER construction (i.e. around 4.5 billion EUR) is for components and activities that result in the creation of new knowledge and cutting-edge technology. More than 766 procurement contracts for a value of 3.5 billion EUR have already been awarded to European companies; and more than 145 grants have been signed with European industries and research centres. ITER is seen as a key step to demonstrate the viability of fusion as an energy source which can lead to future fusion power plants. As such, ITER is considered a strategic element of President Juncker's objective for clean and secure energy. F4E Director, Johannes Schwemmer, echoed Europe’s determination to honour its obligations and follow up rigorously all manufacturing activities. He used this occasion to formally introduce himself to the fusion community, referred to the main achievements of the project and offered an overview of the business prospects in the years to come. To showcase the direct and indirect financial benefits stemming from ITER, he presented a selection of case studies demonstrating commercial, financial or RD breakthroughs and concluded with the views of some contractors.

The hospitality of the Principality of Monaco and the hard work of colleagues from ITER IO and Agence ITER France left the best impressions. This time, however, there was a tone of confidence and assertiveness that ITER is moving in the right direction and that all parties are determined to ensure its success.

To view the MIIFED-IBF 2016 programme click here.

To view all F4E presentations click here.

Source: F4E

Johannes Schwemmer has taken up duties as Fusion for Energy’s (F4E) Director. Revamping Europe’s contribution to ITER will be his main priority which will underpin most of the actions that are being carefully designed in collaboration with stakeholders. 

A close and effective collaboration with all ITER parties to build further and firmer synergies; a constructive interaction with policy-makers based on transparency and trust; a dynamic industrial policy meeting the needs of companies are some of the challenges that he plans to tackle. 

His solid background on project management is also expected to trigger off a series of improvements in the way F4E is organised and delivers.

Source: F4E