The International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF), presently in its Engineering Validation and Engineering Desi gn Activities (EVEDA) phase under the frame of the Broader Approach Agreement between Europe and Japan, accomplished in summer 2013, on schedule, its EDA phase with the release of the engineering design report of the IFMIF plant, which is here described. Many improvements of the design from former phases are implemented, particularly a reduction of beam losses and operational costs thanks to the superconducting accelerator concept, the re-location of the quench tank outside the 1 2 × test cell (TC) with a reduction of tritium inventory and a simplification on its replacement in case of failure, the separation of the irradiation modules from the shielding block gaining irradiation flexibility and enhancement of the remote handling equipment reliability and cost reduction, and the water cooling of the liner and biological shielding of the TC, enhancing the efficiency and economy of the related sub-systems. In addition, the maintenance strategy has been modified to allow a shorter yearly stop of the irradiation operations and a more careful management of the irradiated samples. The design of the IFMIF plant is intimately linked with the EVA phase carried out since the entry into force of IFMIF/EVEDA in June 2007. These last activities and their on-going accomplishment have been thoroughly described elsewhere (Knaster J et al [19]), which, combined with the present paper, allows a clear understanding of the maturity of the European-Japanese international efforts. This released IFMIF Intermediate Engineering Design Report (IIEDR), which could be complemented if required concurrently with the outcome of the on-going EVA, will allow decision making on its construction and/or serve as the basis for the definition of the next step, aligned with the evolving needs of our fusion community.

Source of light ions with high intensities The (SILHI) source has been producing proton beams since 1996. The first aim is to produce up to 100 mA cw beams at 95 keV for the injector of protons for high intensity demonstrator. This prototype is developed by a CEA/DSM–CNRS/IN2P3 collaboration for applications such as accelerator driven systems for nuclear waste transmutation, production of radioactive ion beams, or secondary particles. To measure installation reliability, continuous 5 day long runs have been performed. In October 1999, a 99.96% availability was achieved with a single short beam off and a 103 H uninterrupted beam. A new extraction system leads to lower beam losses and higher LEBT transparency. SILHI now produces a 95 keV–130 mA total beam with a proton fraction higher than 80%. Up to a 157 mA (247 mA/cm2) total cw beam has been extracted. The new EPICS control system, electromagnetic interference hardened devices and automatic control procedures now allow us to do longer runs. To analyze the reliability of these upgrades, a 4 week test was planned. In the framework of the International Fusion Material Irradiation Facility project CEA participation, 135 mA–95 kV deuteron pulsed beams were produced. Extraction simulations and recent SILHI results are also presented. In addition, a new test bench has been recently developed to analyze H− beam production.