CENTURAY’s twelve-year ITER cable mission
Category: Cryogenics, Diagnostics, Magnets, Superconductors, Tokamak, Vacuum
High-voltage cable qualification at CENTURAY, part of a twelve-year supply commitment to the ITER fusion project
(Image courtesy of CENTURAY)
Delivering cable systems to a nuclear fusion facility is not a standard procurement exercise. The specifications are exacting, the timelines are long, and the liability window extends well beyond physical delivery. When CENTURAY took on the high-voltage cable package for ITER in 2013, the Hebei-based manufacturer was committing to a project that would not close out for more than a decade.
That closure came in 2025. According to the company, all supplied products completed final acceptance at the ITER site in Cadarache, France – the end point of a supply chain engagement that spanned design, qualification, manufacture, ocean freight, and on-site installation across twelve years and two continents.
Scope, specifications, and what fusion-grade actually means
CENTURAY’s assignment sat within China’s in-kind contribution to ITER, coordinated through the China International Nuclear Fusion Energy Program Execution Center (CIPFE). The company says it supplied approximately 67 kilometres of 66kV XLPE power cable and 446 outdoor terminations, around 54 kilometres of 22kV cable and 160 outdoor terminations, roughly 11 kilometres of 1kV low-voltage power cable, approximately 80 kilometres of control and instrumentation cable, grounding boxes, and associated accessories. Technical support came from the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP).
None of these were catalogue products. According to CENTURAY, the cables had to withstand ultra-high voltages while managing electromagnetic interference and thermal control demands specific to the fusion environment. “These products must guarantee absolute stability in extreme environments,” the company states. Customised designs were developed with ASIPP support, and a full technical document package was submitted to the fusion centre for approval before production began.
Factory acceptance testing and the zero-defect claim
Quality assurance centred on a specialised Quality Plan and Manufacturing Inspection Plan, both requiring sign-off from the fusion centre and ITER before manufacture could proceed. Factory Acceptance Testing ran from August 2015 to November 2016, covering component sampling, type and routine test report reviews, inventory and packing list checks, and packing scheme audits. Electrical performance testing – including partial discharge and voltage withstand tests -formed the most demanding phase, alongside physical property verification.
“Between August 2015 and November 2016, all of our low-voltage, 66kV, and 22kV cables and accessories successfully passed the FAT,” CENTURAY states, “presenting a zero-defect scorecard to the world.”
Shipping, storage, and the long-term cracking problem
Getting the cables from Hebei to southern France was only part of the logistics challenge. Under CENTURAY’s project terms, the company says its quality warranty runs until one year after ITER achieves first plasma – a liability window that extends well beyond delivery and installation. “This makes for an extremely long transnational marathon where failure is not an option,” the company notes.
The specific technical risk during that period was cracking. ITER’s halogen-free, low-smoke cable specification, required for safety in an enclosed nuclear environment, made the cables susceptible to cracking under prolonged storage conditions, according to CENTURAY. The company says it worked with ASIPP to resolve the problem and proposed dedicated warehousing requirements to the ITER site. Shipments went out in batches between October 2015 and February 2017. On-site unpacking and acceptance at Cadarache ran from January 2016 through to February 2018. The company says no cracking issues have been identified since installation.
CENTURAY engineers on the ground at ITER – travelling against the tide to see the project through
(Image courtesy of CENTURAY)
On-site during a pandemic
ITER officially commenced assembly on 28 July 2020. CENTURAY’s technical experts were there. With COVID-19 travel restrictions in force, the company says its engineers travelled to Cadarache to oversee the assembly of outdoor terminations and grounding system connections – work that required direct supervision given the precision tolerances and the irreversible nature of high-voltage termination once completed.
“To ensure the progress of a scientific project for all humanity,” the company recalls, “our technical experts unhesitatingly travelled against the tide to the French site.” That line reflects something engineers in long-cycle fusion supply chains will recognise – that delivery does not end when the shipment lands.
What twelve years looks like
The project was coordinated by a 13-member core management team, backed by high-voltage insulation specialists, precision machining engineers, and project managers experienced in international engineering delivery frameworks.
For Jack Jin, President of CENTURAY, the outcome carries weight beyond the technical. “The ITER project is not only an epoch-making endeavour marking China’s first global cooperation in exploring humanity’s future, but also a microcosm of the global elevation of Chinese manufacturing,” he said. “For CENTURAY, completing this 12-year marathon and successfully achieving final acceptance and delivery of all products not only validates our world-class manufacturing capabilities for cables and accessories, but also solidifies our commitment to a warranty lasting more than a decade. We are immensely proud to be the safeguarders of the global nuclear fusion energy cause, using deep trust to connect the ultimate future of humanity.”
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