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The IFMIF-DONES Facility is a unique first-class scientific infrastructure whose construction is foreseen in Granada, Spain, in the coming years. Strong integration efforts are being made at the current project phase aiming at harmonizing the ongoing design of the different and complex Systems of the facility. The consolidation of the Diagnostics and Instrumentation, transversal across many of them, is a key element of this purpose. A top-down strategy is proposed for a systematic Diagnostics Review and Requirement definition, putting emphasis in the one-of-a-kind instruments necessary by the operational particularities of some of the Systems, as well as to the harsh environment that they shall survive. In addition, other transversal aspects such as the ones related to Safety and Machine Protection and their respective requirements shall be also considered. The goal is therefore to advance further and solidly in the respective designs, identify problems in advance, and steer the Diagnostics development and validation campaigns that will be required. The present work provides an overview of this integration strategy as well as a description of some of the most challenging Diagnostics and Instruments within the facility, including several proposed techniques currently under study.

International audience; The scope of the EUFOfusion Work Package Breeding Blanket is to develop a blanket concept for the EU DEMO reactor; this includes the blanket segments inside the Vacuum Vessel and the related Tritium Extraction/Removal Systems. In the Pre-Concept Design (PCD) Phase, two concepts have been selected as candidates; a solid and a liquid breeder blanket cooled with helium and water, respectively. The design of these two blanket systems has been adapted to the DEMO plant design developed in the PCD Phase and performances assessed. A large R&D programme has been implemented with the scope to evaluate different technologies for these blankets; including the development of breeders, tritium extraction and cooling technologies, and the manufacturing of the blanket system. A major milestone in the subsequent Concept Design Phase is the final selection of the blanket concept for DEMO.

International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility-DEMO-Oriented NEutron Source (IFMIF-DONES) is a high-intensity neutron irradiation facility for qualification of fusion reactor materials, which is being designed as part of the European roadmap to fusion-generated electricity. Its main purpose is to study the behavior of materials properties under irradiation in a neutron flux able to simulate the same effects in terms of relevant nuclear responses as those expected in the first wall of the DEMO reactor which is envisaged to follow ITER. It is thus a key facility to support the design, licensing and safe operation of DEMO as well as of the fusion power plants that will be developed afterwards. The start of its construction is foreseen in the next few years. In this contribution, an overview of the IFMIF-DONES neutron source is presented together with a snapshot of the current engineering design status and of the relevant key results achieved within the EUROfusion Work Package Early Neutron Source (WPENS) as part of the 2014–2020 EURATOM Research and Training Programme, complementary to the EU Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (FP8). Moreover, some information on the future developments of the project are given.

The design of the High-Flux Test Module of the International Fusion Material Irradiation Facility has been developed continuously in the past few years. The present paper highlights recent design achievements, including a thorough state-of-the-art validation assessment of CFD tools and models. Along with design related analyses exercises on manufacturing procedures have been performed. Recommendations for the use of container, rig, and capsule materials as well as recent progress in brazing of electrical heaters are discussed. A test matrix starting from High-Flux Test Module compartments, i.e. segments of the full module, with heated dummy rigs up to the full-scale module with instrumented irradiation rigs has been developed and the appropriate helium gas loop has been designed conceptually. A roadmap of the envisaged experimental activities is presented in accordance with the test loop facility construction and mock-up design and fabrication schedules.

The International Fusion Material Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) is an accelerator driven neutron source for irradiation tests of candidate fusion reactor materials. Within the High Flux Test Module (HFTM) a testing volume of 0.5 l filled by qualified small scale specimens will be irradiated at displacement rates of 20–50 dpa/fpy in structural materials. The Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (FZK) has developed a HFTM design which closely follows the design premise of maximising the space available for irradiation specimens in the IFMIF high flux zone and in addition allows keeping the temperature nearly constant in the rigs containing the specimen. Complementary analyses on nuclear, thermo-hydraulics and mechanical performance of the HFTM were performed to optimize the design. The present paper highlights the main design characteristics as well as recent progress achieved in this area. The contribution also includes (i) recommendations for the use of container, rig and capsule materials, and (ii) a description of the fabrication routes for the entire HFTM including brazing and filling procedures which are currently under development at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe.