JSC Atomenergoprom Annual Report
JSC ATOMENERGOPROM / ANNUAL REPORT / 78
TORUS
5
INNOVATIONS AND NEW PRODUCTS
5.1. RESEARCH AND INNOVATIONS
Key results in 2022
Revenue from new products of the Research Division increased six-fold over five years.
Revenue from new products of JSC Science and Innovations makes up about 50% of total revenue.
JSC Atomenergoprom creates breakthrough technologies and innovation infrastructure to facilitate long-
term development and meet the energy needs of mankind.
JSC Science and Innovations (managed by JSC Atomenergoprom) is the key nuclear organisation
responsible for scientific research. The activities of JSC Science and Innovations have been grouped into
three units focused on specific disciplines: the Physics and Energy Unit, the Electrophysics Unit, and the
Chemical Technology Unit; an Industry-Wide Competence Centre for Intellectual Property Management
(an IP operator) has been established.
An important area of operations for JSC Science and Innovations is the development and commercialisation
of the Division's technological competences, the search for and structuring of technologies and their
subsequent sale on the domestic and foreign markets.
Twelve companies controlled by JSC Science and Innovations 37 are directly involved in R&D and innovation
activities.
Performance in 2022
Comprehensive programme 'Development of Technical Capabilities,
Technology and Scientific Research in the Use of Nuclear Energy in the
Russian Federation until 2024'
In 2022, institutes forming part of JSC Atomenergoprom's Research Division met all key targets set for three
federal projects included in the comprehensive programme titled 'Development of Technical Capabilities,
Technology and Scientific Research in the Use of Nuclear Energy in the Russian Federation' (CP DTTS).
Construction of experimental test facilities in order to develop technologies for a two-component
nuclear power industry based on the closed NFC (second federal project included in the CP DTTS)
All R&D activities under government contracts concluded with institutes forming part of the Company's
Research Division for research and preparation of a safety case for the MBIR research reactor, life extension
of the BOR-60 reactor and validation of innovative radiochemical technologies were completed.
The MBIR multipurpose fast neutron research reactor will enable the validation of technologies for a two-
component nuclear power industry and the closed fuel cycle. It is designed primarily for reactor testing of
innovative structural and fuel materials for the core of fourth-generation nuclear power systems, including
fast neutron reactors and low- and medium-power thermal reactors. The facility will be unique and will
become the most powerful among fast neutron research reactors currently in operation, under construction
or at the design stage worldwide. In addition, steps are being taken to establish the International Research
Centre based on the MBIR reactor (IRC MBIR); its development will provide a foundation for the promotion
of fast reactor technology on the global market by enabling broad international research collaboration.
An international programme is being developed based on the national programme of advanced
experimental research at MBIR approved in 2021. To support these efforts, an Advisory Board has been
established; it comprises leading Russian and foreign experts in the nuclear industry. 56 researchers,
experts and executives from more than 13 leading research centres in Russia, China, India, Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Algeria and Armenia, as well as international organisations of the IAEA and the Joint
Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) participated in person or online in the first meeting of the IRC MBIR
Advisory Board held at JSC SSC RIAR in July 2022.
R&D focused on the development of compact high-intensity neutron sources (third federal project
included in the CP DTTS)
A laboratory prototype of a plasma accelerator for a neutron source based on plasmoid collisions was designed
and built. In addition, a diagnostic facility was built for measuring plasma parameters and neutron yield;
experimental research was conducted to determine the parameters of the laboratory prototype of a plasma
accelerator and its power unit. In 2022, pulsed power sources were designed and produced for a system for
working gas pre-ionisation in the plasma accelerator; experiments were carried out with neutron detectors.
These devices and experimental findings will provide a basis for a compact high-intensity neutron source
designed for the testing of components of fusion reactors.
As part of the development of a prototype for a plasma jet engine, in 2022, the institute built a plasma
accelerator with a system for working medium pre-ionisation, carried out experiments to examine its energy
balance with a high specific impulse and developed methods for extending the service life of its electrodes.
Following the completion of all activities in 2024, the institute will build an engine prototype with improved
thrust and specific impulse outperforming alternative solutions in terms of jet power (300 kW), thrust (6 N)
and specific impulse (100 km/s).
As part of another R&D project, specialists produced working designs for key systems and components of a
mock-up of a driver module for laser fusion; they also developed and examined vacuum spatial filters and
produced a mock-up of a diode emitter, a cryogenic fan with a flow channel and active components. This
work will result in the development of a unique research facility that will make it possible to study physical
processes and phenomena that occur during diode pumping and cryogenic cooling of the active medium,
model, examine and test complex laser systems, and test laser subsystems and circuits in a wide range of
operation. Scientific research in this area will help to develop world-class repetitively pulsed laser devices
with a high average emission power.
As part of another R&D project, specialists completed research focused on laser surface modification of
metallic materials. This included developing a laser shock hardening process, which eliminates internal
stresses in metal samples, increases their fatigue resistance and durability without the need for subsequent
machining. This enhances the strength performance of structural steel used in gas turbine components,
with surface hardness increasing by a factor of 3.5 and surface roughness decreasing by 25%. A pulsed
plasma jet device was developed for the treatment of complex-shaped parts.
INNOVATIONS AND NEW PRODUCTS
37. A full list of organisations is available on the website at http://www.innov-rosatom.ru/network/vertical/nii/
INNOVATIONS AND NEW PRODUCTS
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