(Yicai Global) Jan. 29 -- The key thermonuclear fusion pressure equipment developed by a team led by China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGNPC) for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project was loaded on board a vessel yesterday and began its trip to France.

The four stainless-steel VSTs for the ITER project that began floating towards France are the first batch of nuclear fusion equipment successfully developed by a Chinese enterprise, state Xinhua News Agency reported.

The set was developed by a consortium led by China Nuclear Power Engineering Co. in cooperation with Suzhou Thvow Technology Co. using the international nuclear secondary standards in their joint research.

Before delivery, the VSTs passed a series of acceptance tests, including pressure, vacuum, helium leak, jacking, lifting lug load and over-stowing testing. 

The delivery cycle for the 4 VSTs has been a mere 15 months, half the usual time for deliveries of the same type of nuclear power equipment, said Gao Feng, the deputy head of China Nuclear Power Engineering's design institute. The successful delivery of these devices fully demonstrates Chinese enterprises' equipment manufacturing and project management capabilities.

The ITER project involves a total investment of EUR15 billion (USD17 billion) and a construction period of over 10 years. The project is designed to achieve large-scale controllable thermonuclear fusion reaction through superconducting Tokamak devices (also called 'artificial suns') and is one of the largest and most influential international scientific cooperation projects in the world. It will go up next to the Cadarache plant in Saint-Paul-les-Durance in Provence in the South of France.