Research and experimental development services

Tender description

The STEP programme is exploring the use of joints in the Toroidal Field coils, which would enable novel maintenance, assembly and manufacturing schemes. The STEP programme is exploring the use of joints in the Toroidal Field coils, which would enable novel maintenance, assembly and manufacturing schemes. Joints in fusion magnets require a low-resistance transfer of current from one cable/winding to another, while being electrically insulated from the other cables in the winding pack, i.e. within the same magnet coil. For STEP, this joint needs to be connected and disconnected easily using remotely operated robotic equipment, when the conductor is not charged and at room temperature. There is currently no existing technology on the market that can transfer the required currents (50-100 kA) at cryogenic temperature (4-30 K) at sufficiently low resistance, while being easy to connect/disconnect. Room-temperature solutions exist up to currents of ~1 kA, with minimal robotic adaptations. A review of existing solutions and preliminary testing can be found in TD-0006836. The purpose of the procurement activity is a multi-year, stage-gated development of the desired connector technology, to be performed in collaboration with UKAEA teams, e.g. for robotic considerations, testing, instrumentation and data analysis during development through to a viable solution for high current transfer at cryogenic temperature. This is purely a technology development for IP generation, without a supply contract at the end of this procurement process. The end point will be a product design, ready for manufacture. This in line with the STEP Tranche 1 goal of proving an investible design concept, rather than a physical product or machine. The sponsorship of STEP and demonstrating the feasibility of this concept provides confidence in the commercial feasibility of this solution and encourages industry engagement/investment.