Assystem, a leading innovation and engineering consultancy secures multi-million Euro contract with Fusion for Energy (F4E) - the EU organization responsible for Europe’s contribution to ITER. The five-year contract sees Assystem working on the world’s biggest international energy project, currently under construction in the South of France.
Assystem, which delivers specialist engineering services to the Oil and Gas, Energy, Aerospace, Automotive, Defence and Nuclear industries has started work on the ITER fusion energy project – an unprecedented international effort by China, the EU, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States to pool financial and scientific resources to build the biggest fusion reactor in history.
Construction is underway in Cadarache and sees Assystem using advanced and innovative techniques suitable for subsea operations and space exploration, focusing on the ITER Divertor Remote Handling system and confirms the company’s position as a key engineering partner within the ITER project.
The Divertor is a key component of the ITER machine. Located at the bottom of the vacuum vessel, its function is to extract impurities from the plasma, in effect acting like a giant exhaust system. The Divertor Remote Handling systems include the equipment required to safely and reliably position as well as extract each of the 54 removable cassettes within the Divertor.
Remote handling is widely used in space exploration missions, subsea or ground operations. The system brings together high tech robotics, advanced technological tools, powerful computers and virtual reality platforms. A high level of intuition and intelligence are inbuilt within the system which is handled by a human operator with extreme dexterity because of the degree of millimetric precision that is required.
Speaking from the company’s North Sea Oil and Gas engineering base, Andrew Mills, Head of Business Unit said: “We are very pleased to have been selected for this prestigious project. The extensive engineering experience our highly-skilled team has developed across the Energy sector means Assystem can add value across the oil and gas life cycle. Remote handling technology and systems have clear benefits for the harsh North Sea environment from exploration and production, increasingly, to decommissioning.
“Oil and gas producers require more efficient and innovative services than ever before from suppliers and Assystem’s ability to use the expertise developed in the course of this work will be of benefit in demanding North Sea oil and gas operations. “
Since 2009, Assystem has been heavily involved in the concept design phase of the various types of remote handling equipment that will be required to install, maintain, and recover the diverse components of the ITER Tokamak during its operational life.
For Assystem, the contract confirms the Group’s dedication and commitment to the international fusion energy project. It also demonstrates the company’s leading edge competencies and its capacity to bring together the best-in class skills and partners for a specific project.
Assystem and its partners have successfully collaborated to offer a wealth of expert fusion energy knowledge that will drive innovation and meet the uniquely challenging requirements of the ITER project.
The Assystem-led team brings a distinctive combination of skills and experience which provides F4E access to the extensive nuclear remote handling capability available from within Assystem. These skills and knowledge are now available to the UK oil and gas market.
Assystem is an international Engineering and Innovation Consultancy. Assystem supports its customers in developing their products and managing their capital expenditure throughout the product life cycle. Assystem employs more than 12,000 people worldwide and reported $960 million in revenue in 2014.
