Preliminary Design Review Meeting Successfully Held for China's Helium-Cooled Solid Test Blanket Module System

From July 6 to 10, 2026, the ITER Organization held an expert review meeting at its headquarters in France regarding the preliminary design of China's Helium-Cooled Ceramic Breeder Test Blanket System (HCCB TBS). During the meeting, the Chinese team presented detailed reports on system design and validation, technical risk analysis, and plans for installation and commissioning. The expert review panel highly commended the Chinese design proposal and analysis results, offering guidance and recommendations for the next phase of work. The successful conclusion of the meeting marked the formal approval of the preliminary design.

As one of the three major engineering objectives of the ITER program, the Test Blanket Module (TBM) project aims to validate tritium breeding and energy extraction technologies under fusion reactor conditions, thereby providing critical technical experience and experimental data to support the design and development of future fusion reactor blankets. The initial round of the ITER TBM project evaluates four blanket concepts: the EU’s Water-Cooled Lithium-Lead (WCLL) blanket; the Helium-Cooled Ceramic Pebble-Bed (HCCP) blanket (a joint effort between the EU and South Korea); Japan’s Water-Cooled Ceramic Breeder (WCCB) blanket; and China’s Helium-Cooled Ceramic Breeder (HCCB) blanket. The Fusion Center commissioned the Southwestern Institute of Physics (SWIP), the Institute of Materials at the China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP), CNNC Tongchuang (Chengdu) Technology Co., Ltd., and China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd. to collaborate on the design and development of the Chinese HCCB TBS.