An award for Europe’s heavy transport and logistics for ITER

Fusion for Energy (F4E), Daher and CFT received the ‘Green Shipper’ award in the category for exceptional transport at the International Transport and Logistics Exhibition (SITL) in Paris. The prize was granted by the French river port operator Medlink Ports. It recognises the sustainability of Europe’s barge operations carrying heavy components across the inland sea of Berre, as part of the ITER itinerary in southern France.

As ITER’s host party, Europe coordinates the transportation on French territory of the equipment delivered by the ITER Members. F4E has collaborated with the global logistics provider Daher since 2012, taking thousands of components to the site.

These include cargos of several hundred tonnes, known as Highly Exceptional Loads (HEL), like the Vacuum Vessel sectors or the Toroidal Field coils. Such extra-large components follow a special route and protocol. Each operation lasts multiple days and nights and requires heavy-duty vehicles, adapted infrastructure and, above all, flawless coordination.

The journey starts in the harbour of Fos-Sur-Mer, west of Marseille. From there, the component and its trailer are loaded onto a specially designed barge to cross the Étang de Berre. This flat-bottomed boat is operated by Compagnie Fluviale de Transport (CFT), a subcontractor of Daher, and escorted by France’s Maritime Gendarmerie. The barge then docks at the Port de la Pointe, where the convoy shifts to road transport along the 104-kilometre route to the site. To date, nearly 200 HEL have successfully travelled across the inland sea on their way to ITER.

Nadia Raingeard, F4E Technical Officer for transport activities, received the award at STIL: “The Berre waterway is an essential link in the ITER logistics chain, offering an energy-efficient and reliable alternative to road or rail. This prize rewards a shared commitment to execute a demanding and complex task in the safest and most sustainable way,” she said.