Progresses and challenges in supporting activities toward a license to operate European TBM systems in ITER

Licensing a pressurized nuclear equipment like the European Test Blanket Modules (TBM) Systems and, on the longer term, breeder blankets of a fusion demonstration reactor (DEMO), will require presenting to the Regulator and the Agreed Notified Body, along with design and safety analyses, supporting data like consolidated materials data and design limits, qualified fabrication procedures specifications and validated modeling tools that go often over today's state-of-the-art of nuclear industry. TBM systems feature indeed a newly developed structural material and advanced fabrication processes that were not referenced in any nuclear construction codes before, new type of functional materials, complex structures geometry and many interconnected sub-systems exchanging tritium by permeation or fluid mass transfer. For many years now, Europe has structured its development activities on TBM Systems toward the preparation of licensing. First tangible results are now arising: the EUROFER structural material has been introduced in the RCC-MRx nuclear code, supported by a database of several thousands of test records; TBM box fabrication procedure specifications are under standardization by industry in view of their qualification; a modeling tool for accurate simulation of tritium transport in TBM systems has been developed in view of refining conservative inventory data published in preliminary safety reports and optimizing waste management. Remaining challenges are identified and discussed.