July 13, 2025 - Fusion for Energy (F4E) confirmed the successful delivery of 18 kilometers of specialized stainless steel pipes, a key component for the cooling system of the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project. Manufactured by Germany’s Dockweiler and its supplier DMV Tubes at their Italian facilities, the pipes will form the manifold network that cools the ITER tokamak’s protective blanket, which must withstand extreme heat and neutron blasts during fusion reactions.

Made from nuclear-grade stainless steel, the pipes meet ultra-tight tolerances and rigorous nuclear industry standards, ensuring structural integrity under harsh thermal and electromagnetic stress. Of the total 18km delivered, 9km will be installed in the ITER reactor, with the remainder kept as spares. "Producing pipes for ITER has raised our quality benchmarks significantly," said Vincenzo Rigotti, Quality Manager at DMV. Houda Labidi, F4E Technical Officer, added, "Few suppliers can meet ITER’s quality and quantity requirements, and this delivery marks a major milestone for the project." The pipes are now en route to Germany for further processing and assembly.