Daily Business Report-May 7, 2019
The ITER Central Solenoid team in front of the first module. The module will now undergo rigorous testing before being prepared for shipment to France. (Photo courtesy of General Atomics)
Making the world’s largest pulsed
superconducting magnet
When the ITER fusion energy project in France powers up in 2025, its first operations will be enabled by the largest pulsed superconducting magnet ever built – a magnet that has roots in Southern California.
The magnet is known as the ITER Central Solenoid, and a critical milestone was reached this month when General Atomics (GA) completed fabrication of the first of six modules that will make up the solenoid (a seventh is being fabricated as a spare). The Central Solenoid, sometimes referred to as the heart of ITER, will be 59 feet tall and reside in the center of the ITER tokamak. Operation of the magnet will enable ITER to create and sustain fusion on a scale unprecedented on earth by providing 15 million amperes of plasma current. This current simultaneously heats and confines the plasma – a state of matter with large quantities of ionized particles – enabling sustained temperatures in ITER that are over ten times those of the sun.
“The Central Solenoid is essential to the operation of ITER, which makes this a significant milestone for the global fusion energy community,” said Jeff Quintenz, senior vice president of GA’s Energy Group. “The engineering challenge we took on with this project was enormous, but today we are seeing the payoff for that effort. The successful completion and operation of ITER should help lead to the development of fusion energy, a nearly limitless, clean energy source for our world.”
The completed Central Solenoid will consist of six stacked modules made of niobium-tin cable encased in a stainless-steel jacket. Fabrication of each module occurs over a 24-month period, beginning with precise winding and joining of seven conductor segments totaling 3.6 miles to create a layered module with strict tolerances – the two ends must be within a quarter of an inch. The module then spends a month in a massive oven to convert the niobium and tin core into superconducting material. Every turn of the conductor must be separately wrapped with six layers of insulating tape, totaling over 180 miles per module. The entire module is then insulated before being encapsulated in a special epoxy resin to stabilize and protect the coil.
All of the manufacturing processes were developed by GA under a contract from UT-Battelle, which manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy.
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Poseidon Water assumes stewardship
of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon
Poseidon Water, owner and operator of the Carlsbad Desalination Plant, furthered its commitment to protect and preserve San Diego’s coastal environment by assuming stewardship of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon in Carlsbad.
The Agua Hedionda Lagoon encompasses over 400 acres of marine, estuarine and wetlands habitat teeming with hundreds of fish, invertebrate and bird species. As the lagoon’s steward, Poseidon Water is taking responsibility for ensuring the man-made lagoon continues to realize the life-sustaining benefits of an open connection to the Pacific Ocean. It will provide periodic maintenance dredging to keep sand from blocking the flow of ocean water in and out of the lagoon, maintaining its tidal circulation, which is needed to maintain a healthy marine ecosystem.
The Lagoon was previously maintained by NRG, a Fortune 200 energy company, and owner of the now decommissioned Encina Power Station. The Carlsbad Desalination Plant is located on the same site as the Encina Power Station and utilizes the power plant’s historic intake and outfall facilities for the desalination process. As part of its co-location, Poseidon Water has long planned to succeed NRG as the lagoon’s steward.
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Scripps Research spinoff Abide Therapeutics
to be acquired by Danish pharma company
Abide Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded by Scripps Research professors Benjamin Cravatt and Dale Boger, will be acquired by the Danish pharmaceutical firm H. Lundbeck A/S.
Under the terms of the agreement, announced Monday, Lundbeck may pay $250 million upfront with a commitment to pay future development and sales milestones to the group of current owners of up to $150 million. Scripps Research will receive a portion of the upfront proceeds as a result of its equity holdings, and is eligible to receive a royalty on the ABX-1431 product and other portfolio assets.
Abide uses a unique chemo-proteomic platform to discover new classes of drugs for a range of brain diseases, focusing on first-in-class therapies that target the endocannabinoid system.
After the agreement closes, Abide’s laboratory in La Jolla will become a U.S. drug discovery hub for Lundbeck. Dr. Deborah Dunsire, president and CEO of Lundbeck, said Abide’s innovative R&D platform provides Lundbeck with a “unique opportunity to strengthen our pipeline now and well into the future, putting Lundbeck in position to deliver multiple new and transformative treatments for brain diseases.”
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Councilman Chris Ward leads request for
$9.5 million for Balboa Park improvements
San Diego Councilman Chris Ward and the leadership of park institutions have called for Mayor Kevin Faulconer to reinvest $9.5 million in Capital Improvement Program funding back into general facility improvements across the park.
“Park conditions are embarrassing and must be addressed, so I will continue advocating for a new Balboa Park Master Plan Project Implementation Plan to prioritize park improvements requested by the community and stakeholders,” said Ward, whose 3rd District includes the park.
“We cannot risk losing out on $9.5 million in funding when the needs of Balboa Park are so great,” said Peter Comiskey, executive director of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership. Over the last nine years, the cultural institutions of Balboa Park have invested over $80 million into the park. We need the city to show it’s ready to do its part: secure this funding and commit to capital reinvestment for the existing facilities in our Park.”
“There are clear, immediate infrastructure needs here in Balboa Park and they are best illustrated by the dismal conditions of public restrooms throughout the park,” said Joyce Gattas, chair of the Balboa Park Conservancy. The restoration of public restrooms, especially in the Palisades, is essential to improving the overall visitor experience that this park relies on.”
“We have a golden opportunity to begin a real rebirth for Balboa Park,” said John Bolthouse, executive director of the nonprofit Friends of Balboa Park. “This park is one of the most important cultural destinations in all of Southern California, but meaningful investment in its upkeep has been long overdue.”
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California energy companies announce
wildfire preparedness campaign
California’s three largest energy companies on Monday announced a coordinated wildfire safety and awareness campaign to prepare Californians for the threat of extreme weather and power outages during times of increased wildfire danger. The statewide Power of Being Prepared campaign is being led jointly by San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Company, at the direction of the California Public Utilities Commission. The multimedia and multilingual campaign includes radio ads, preparedness resources and a new website, prepareforpowerdown.com. It is a call to action for all Californians to take important steps to get ready before the 2019 wildfire season, such as creating a thorough emergency plan and updating their contact information with their energy company.
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Port earns seven international and state
marketing and communications awards
The Port of San Diego has been recognized with a total of seven awards by two marketing and communications organizations – the Association of Marketing & Communications Professionals (AMCP) and the California Association for Public Information Officers (CAPIO) – for excellence in video production, digital marketing, crisis communications and website redesign.
“Our team has earned these honors by delivering a user-friendly website, reinforcing our commitment to public engagement and transparency, and creatively promoting opportunities to enjoy San Diego Bay,” said Port of San Diego CEO Randa Coniglio
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Personnel Announcements
Patrick Haase joins Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek
The San Diego-based law firm of Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek announces that Patrick Haase has joined the firm’s Estate Planning & AdministrationDepartment as an associate.
Haase’s practice focuses on estate planning, trust and probate law. He is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization and a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation. He is also an Accredited VA Attorney, admitted to practice before the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Prior to joining SCMV, Haase was an associate at the Law Offices of Arthur S. Brown.
Haase is an active member of the San Diego County Bar Association, the North County Bar Association, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), and the National Elder Law Foundation (NELF).
He received his J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law and his B.A. from Virginia Tech.
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Opinion
With anti-Semitism on the rise, Jews
must call out hatred on the left and the right
By Joel Kotkin
The recent deadly assault on the Chabad temple in Poway — just six months after a bloodier massacre in Pittsburgh — reflects the sad reality that anti-Semitism, in all its hoary forms, is back.
This is, if anything, even more the case in Europe, where Jewish populations are under siege and are almost one-third as large as right after the Holocaust.
Sadly, confronted by such incidents, the Jewish community, reflecting the deep fissures of American society, seems divided by political orientation. The conservative faction, sometimes aligned to President Trump, focuses largely on growing anti-Semitism on the political left often downplayed by progressive Jews who focus on the scattered, albeit sometimes deadly, expression of anti-Semitism among scattered white nationalists.
The problem here is that both the far-right and the progressive left represent clear and present dangers to Jews around the world. The proper response to incidents at Poway, as well as those perpetrated by the political left, should not be division, but a common sense of unity in the face of a growing, and, until recently, largely unexpected threat.
