Ferrovial has signed two new framework contracts with European Agency Fusion for Energy (F4E) to develop the electrical and civil engineering works for ITER, the biggest international scientific project in the field of fusion energy, under construction in France. These agreements reinforce the company’s position as a strategic partner for the innovative project, in which the company will participate in two works budgeted at 130.7 million euro.

Ferrovial, in consortium with the French Groupe SNEF, is the preferred bidder among the two consortia that were short-listed to complete the installation of the ancillary electrical system for the ITER Tokamak complex, the building that will house the device. The 117.5-million-euro electrical engineering contract is made up by different task orders that F4E is assigning to the two selected consortia in Tender Batch 21 (TB21) lot 1 frame.

Ferrovial has already been awarded the only task order published to date to install the cabling in the ITER galleries, with a budget of 7 million euro. Future task orders will cover the design, manufacturing and supply of power cables, communications cables and load centers, the development of fire protection systems, sub-distribution boards, and busbars.

The second contract, Tender Batch 22, relates to the delivery of secondary structural works at the Tokamak complex. Following the assembly of the electromechanical installations and equipment needed for the operation of the plant, Ferrovial will begin pouring concrete and finish outfitting the premises with the infrastructure required to complete the buildings. Ferrovial ranks as the preferred company to deliver TB22 lot A, signed under a ‘cascading task order’ model and worth 13.2 million euro.

These new contracts consolidate Ferrovial’s position as a strategic partner of F4E, the EU Agency managing Europe’s contribution to ITER. Thus. the company will enhance its standing in the energy sector and extend its presence and experience in the construction of nuclear fusion research facilities. Since 2013, Ferrovial has signed eight contracts with F4E worth more than 1 billion euro, making it the project’s largest civil works contractor.

Nuclear fusion

ITER is a collaborative scientific project in which 35 nations are contributing to build the world’s largest fusionreactor, a device designed to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion power as a large-scale source of energy replicating the same reactions that occur in the sun and stars. Fusion research is aimed at developing a safe, limitless, and environmentally responsible energy source. Europe will contribute almost half of the costs of its construction, while the other six parties to this joint international venture (China, Japan, India, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and the USA), will contribute equally to the rest. The ITER project is located in Cadarache, France.