MAN has a vast experience with demanding projects within the scope of large-scale fusion experiments. We have already participated in the construction of the Wendelstein 7-x plant in Greifswald, Germany, built by the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics (IPP). We supported the project by supplying the internal and external vessel as well as the machinery foundation. Wendelstein 7-x produced the first plasma in 2016 – scientists are now studying the basis for the energy supply of the future.

MAN Energy Solutions is participating in the construction of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in the south of France. It is the largest construction site in Europe and quite possibly the biggest technical challenge of all time.

In 2015, MAN received the contract to assemble the Cryostat at the heart of ITER. The largest stainless-steel high-vacuum chamber ever built, with a height of 30 m and a volume of 16,000 m³, provides the high vacuum, the ultra-cold environment for the vacuum vessel and the superconducting magnets. In the vacuum vessel, under extreme heat and pressure conditions, gaseous hydrogen is converted into plasma – a hot, electrically charged gas that can be used to generate energy. One gram of fusion plasma contains roughly the same amount of energy as twelve tonnes of coal. ITER will work with just three grams of fusion plasma and, from this, will generate 500 MW of thermal power. 

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We are proud to have contributed to the success of such outstanding projects as the CERN particle accelerator ring in Geneva, the Munich II research reactor, and the ESO Very Large Telescope.

For the realization of such large-scale experiments, we have developed components of sizes never previously constructed: Steel structures of carbon steel or stainless steel with diameters of 15 meters and all-up weights of 6,500 tonnes, 10-meter long flow condensers for exhaust gases at 3,000 °C, or high and ultra-high vacuum chambers of anti-magnetic stainless steel whose exceptionally complex structure can be measured only by using an up to date 3D laser measurement system. In this field, special solutions are the rule, requiring not only enormous technical knowledge but also creativity and willingness to accept a certain degree of risk.

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As partner to scientific research institutes, MAN Energy Solutions participates in large-scale physics experiments. For this fascinating work, our performance spectrum begins with the engineering basics. In cooperation with our customers we have developed concepts such as the test stand for the VINCI power plant for the Ariane 5 heavy-lift rocket. Our role includes modelling and design, working out and testing innovative manufacturing processes and advising on manufacturing techniques. Naturally, we also manufacture the desired equipment and install it on site.

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