Ferrovial to build seven buildings in France as part of the ITER project

Ferrovial Agroman has signed two contracts with Fusion for Energy (F4E) to design and build seven buildings as part of the ITER project in Cadarache, south-east France. The contracts with F4E, the European Union organization managing Europe's contribution to the ITER project, are worth approximately 40 million euro. The project execution period is around four years. "These contracts strengthen Ferrovial Agroman's position as one of the companies that is most involved with and committed to the ITER project. We are extremely proud to be a part of the most ambitious energy research project in the world," said Alejandro de la Joya, CEO of Ferrovial Agroman. This is the second time the company has worked on the ITER project: since January 2013, a consortium comprising Ferrovial Agroman, Vinci and Razel-Bec has been building the Tokamak complex, the main building that will house the reactor, and designing and building nine ancillary buildings. Under the first contract, Ferrovial Agroman will build two buildings for magnetic power conversion, each with an area of 4,900 m² and a volume of 39,000 m³.  These buildings will house components manufactured in China, Russia and South Korea which will transform alternating current into direct current to supply the magnets of the Tokamak. The company will also build a smaller building for the reactive power compensation system, which is necessary for the electricity grid to function. Under the second contract, Ferrovial Agroman will design and build the cooling tower and the hot and cold water basins. These structures, the size of ten Olympic size swimming pools (around 26,000 m³ in total), will store the water to cool the ITER. Under the agreement, Ferrovial Agroman will also build a set of buildings for cooling and water treatment systems, among other functions. There will be a total of 39 buildings on the 42-hectare ITER site. There are currently 300 people working directly on construction, and that number is expected to reach 2,000 by mid-2015. According to Professor Henrik Bindslev, Director of F4E, "Construction of the ITER project is reaching a turning point: an increasing number of companies are participating, and a growing number of workers are developing one of Europe's most important projects". The ITER project is a first-of-a-kind global collaboration in the field of energy. It will be the world's largest experimental fusion facility and is designed to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power. Fusion research is aimed at developing a safe, limitless and environmentally-responsible energy source. Europe will contribute almost half of the costs of construction, while the other six members of this international joint venture (China, Japan, India, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the US) will contribute the remainder in equal parts. About Fusion for Energy Fusion for Energy (F4E) is the European Union organization managing Europe’s contribution to ITER. One of the main tasks of F4E is to work together with European industry, SMEs and research organizations to develop and provide a wide range of high technology components together with engineering, maintenance and support services for the ITER project.F4E supports fusion R&D initiatives through the Broader Approach agreement signed with Japan and prepares for the construction of demonstration fusion reactors (DEMO). F4E was created by a decision of the Council of the European Union as an independent legal entity and was established in April 2007 for a period of 35 years. Its offices are in Barcelona, Spain. For more information: Fusionforenergy.europa.eu Youtube.com/user/fusionforenergy Twitter.com/fusionforenergy Linkedin.com/company/fusion-for-energy