Progress in the ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility

The ITER Heating Neutral Beam (HNB) injectors, one of the tools necessary both to achieve burning conditions and to control plasma instabilities, are characterized by such demanding parameters as to require the construction of a Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) dedicated to their development and optimization. The NBTF was realized in Padua (Italy), with the direct contribution of the Italian government, through the Consorzio RFX as the host entity, IO, the in kind contributions of three Domestic Agencies (F4E, JADA, INDA) and the technical and scientific support of various European laboratories and universities. The NBTF hosts two experiments: SPIDER and MITICA. The former is devoted to the optimization of the HNB and DNB ion sources and to the achievement of the required source performances. MITICA is the full size prototype of the ITER HNB, with an ion source identical to the one used in SPIDER. This paper gives an overview of the progress of the NBTF realization with particular emphasis on issues discovered during this phase of activities and to the adopted solutions in order to minimize the impact on the schedule while maintaining the goals of the facilities. The realization of MITICA is well advanced; it is expected to enter into operation in 2023 due to the long procurement times of the in-vessel mechanical components. The power supply designed to operate at 1MV are in an advanced phase of realization; all the high voltage components have been installed and the complex insulation test phase has begun in 2018. The construction and installation of SPIDER plant systems was successfully completed with their integration into the facility. The mechanical components of the ion source were installed inside the vessel and connected to the plants. The integrated commissioning with control (CODAS), protection and safety systems ended positively and the first experimental phase began. Finally, the first results of the SPIDER experimentation and of the 1MV insulation tests on the MITICA high voltage components are presented.