Jacobs Continues Leadership in Delivering Technological Innovation for Fusion energy

ITER awards for leading edge fusion energy research and engineering support; UKAEA awards for design-build test facility and commercial fusion power station

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Jacobs

Apr 14, 2020, 07:45 ET

DALLAS, April 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE:J) is continuing its leadership in clean energy with the award of several contracts, with an estimated combined value of more than $25 million, by Fusion for Energy (F4E), ITER Organization and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).

ITER awards for leading edge research and engineering support in fusion energy

Selected to support leading-edge research in fusion, a potential source of safe, non-carbon emitting and virtually limitless energy, Jacobs is delivering a range of technological and engineering innovation and support to ITER, the world's largest fusion energy project based in Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, France.

ITER Organization has appointed Jacobs to its integrated engineering framework as part of a consortium with Orano Projects and the Madrid-based Universidad Nacional de Educatión a Distancia. The task is to minimize operator exposure to radiation during planned maintenance activities by combining strong collaboration skills with knowledge of ITER maintenance activities, remote handling, radiation and contamination assessment, and hazard risk reduction.

As part of an existing contract with ITER Organization, Jacobs is developing and supplying technology to monitor for corrosion in the hermetically sealed vacuum vessel that houses the fusion reactions. This contract also includes the production of safety documentation for submission to French regulators.

In addition, Jacobs has been awarded both lots of a framework contract to provide ITER Organization with engineering support in relation to the Tokamak Complex Detritiation System, which is key to decontamination and fuel recycling.

Supporting Fusion for Energy, which is responsible for the European Union contribution to ITER, Jacobs is demonstrating safe operating and maintenance methods for helium-cooled pebble bed test blanket technology and is undertaking the construction design of the hydrogen monitoring system in the tokamak and tritium buildings, a major safety feature of the ITER machine.

"These new contracts add to our considerable, long-term contribution to the ITER project and keep us at the forefront of nuclear fusion, which could provide future generations with a clean, safe and virtually unlimited source of energy," said Jacobs Critical Mission Solutions International Senior Vice President Clive White. "As innovators with a combination of fusion-specific and cross-sector engineering experience, we are focused on delivering long-term efficiency and schedule certainty for this important project."

For more than twenty years, Jacobs has been involved in the ITER project, working on key innovative technology including: plasma facing first wall panels; test blanket modules; remote handling systems; integrative control, instrumentation and diagnostic systems; radiological and environmental monitoring; and contamination control and decontamination.

U.K. test facility to help chart a course towards commercial fusion reactors

Jacobs is growing its support to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's research into design, engineering and manufacturing of components for fusion power stations with the award of a $18.4 million contract to design and build a test facility to replicate typical fusion conditions of extreme heat flux, high-pressure cooling and immensely strong electromagnetic fields. The purpose of the facility is to test components for any fusion reactor, whether experimental such as ITER or to support designs for commercial electricity generation. Jacobs will support UKAEA scientists, with partners from around the globe, to develop fusion as a new source of cleaner energy for tomorrow's power stations.

UKAEA also awarded Jacobs a range of work to support the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP), a U.K. government-funded program to design and build a prototype fusion reactor, demonstrating its commercial viability. The contracts address several key areas where Jacobs can develop innovations to help drive the design and implementation, including modelling and simulation, alloy development and materials science, breeder blanket and divertor design, digital engineering, balance of plant and siting.

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of more than 55,000 Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visit jacobs.com and connect with Jacobs on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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SOURCE Jacobs