Lessons learned in the design and operation of the Continuous Pellet Fueling System on W7-X that benefit ITER

A continuous pellet fueling system similar in key aspects to the ITER pellet fueling system design has been developed and installed on W7-X. It has been operational since late 2024 and used to produce peaked density profile high performance plasmas for more than 40 seconds in duration thus far. Commonalities in the design and operation with the ITER system have provided useful experience to improve the design for ITER of the extruder and gas gun. The extruder was optimized by screw design changes and gas gun cutter improved by fabrication from a single piece of metal. The injector can operate continuously and has demonstrated offline operation at W7-X for up to 8 minutes. The requirement for fully remote operation with no access to the injector during the operating week has resulted in a highly reliable design that will make operation on ITER with similar lack of access more tenable. The design provides ease of controllable pellet timing for feedback operation and an adjustable pellet size that is also a beneficial feature for ITER to be to adjust profiles for optimized plasma transport. Examples of operation and performance features will be presented.