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About Rosatom's scientific division
The State Corporation's research activities are aimed at creating new solutions for energy and innovative technologies that improve the quality of people's lives. The basis for carrying out research activities are the nuclear centers and research institutes that are part of Rosatom. This is a large and significant part of the nuclear industry.
In 2011, Rosatom State Corporation initiated the separation of the scientific division into a separate structure. Today, it unites twelve scientific organizations that conduct research in the field of nuclear physics, plasma and laser physics, hydrogen energy, nuclear medicine, new materials, adaptive optics, gas, hydro and thermodynamics, radiochemistry and many others.
JSC Science and Innovations was determined as the management company. An important area of the company's activities is the development and commercialization of the division's technological competencies, the search for and structuring of technologies, and their subsequent implementation in the domestic and foreign markets.
In 2023, 1.5 thousand people joined the scientific division team. Currently, the division has about 500 candidates and over 100 doctors of science - no other structure in Russia has such a concentration of scientists. The proportion of young people is steadily growing. Among the 10 thousand employees of the scientific division, a quarter are employees under 35. This year, it is planned to employ another 1 thousand people. Among the most in-demand specialties are materials scientists, process engineers, radiochemists, IT specialists, analysts, ecologists, as well as specialists at the intersection of sciences (medical physicist, data scientist) and highly qualified workers.
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On the comprehensive program for the development of nuclear science, engineering and technology (RTTN)
The comprehensive program "Development of technology, technology and scientific research in the field of atomic energy in the Russian Federation" (KP "RTTN") was developed by the State Corporation "Rosatom" jointly with the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. The State Corporation "Rosatom" was designated as the program coordinator, and the leading scientific organization is the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute".
It includes five federal projects that affect the development of new advanced technologies and materials, samples of new equipment, technical re-equipment, construction of unique complexes and infrastructure facilities in the field of nuclear energy and control of thermonuclear fusion reactions, as well as low-power nuclear power plants. In April 2022, the President of the Russian Federation issued a decree to extend the RTTN program until 2030.
From 2021 (the start of the program) to 2023, Rosatom invested about 300 billion rubles in the development of the program.
As part of the first federal project of the RTTN program (the New Nuclear Energy socio-economic development initiative), a pilot demonstration power complex with a closed nuclear fuel cycle is being created. The objective is to demonstrate in practice for the first time in the world the operability of the "waste-free atom" concept, when spent nuclear fuel is used again and again to generate electricity. The federal project also pays much attention to low-power nuclear power plants, which are necessary for the development of remote areas isolated from power grids and also have great export potential.
The second federal project is aimed at creating an experimental and test bed base for developing technologies for two-component nuclear power with a closed nuclear fuel cycle. One of the key areas of the project is the construction of a multi-purpose fast neutron research reactor MBIR, which will substantiate the technologies for two-component nuclear power and a closed fuel cycle. The facility will be the most powerful of the existing, constructed and designed fast neutron research reactors, which has no analogues in the world. An International Research Center (ICI MBIR) is also being created on the basis of MBIR.
The third federal project is aimed at developing thermonuclear and plasma technologies, including the creation of supporting infrastructure facilities. The practical output of the project will be the creation of particle and radiation sources for various purposes, powerful plasma engines for spacecraft, innovative equipment for medicine, mechanical engineering, microelectronics and other knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy.
The fourth federal project includes work in three scientific areas: the development of new materials and technologies, including 3D printing, for existing and future power plants, as well as their implementation, the synthesis of new superheavy elements of the periodic table and the study of the properties of matter in an extreme state (ESS), the creation of a research liquid salt reactor (IRLR) with a module for processing spent nuclear fuel. This the facility will become a pilot site for developing an effective method for burning long-lived radioactive waste.
The fifth federal project is aimed at practical development of technologies for serial construction of NPP power units. The first stage, implemented today, is the construction of power units with WWER-TOI reactors at Kursk NPP-2, which are considered the basis for Russian export of nuclear energy technologies in the near future.
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On the Unified Sectoral Thematic Plan of the State Corporation Rosatom
The Unified Sectoral Thematic Plan (USTP) is a portfolio of research and development (R&D) work of the State Corporation Rosatom.
Every year, more than a hundred R&D projects are carried out within the framework of the EOTP: from nuclear energy to nuclear medicine, which find their commercial application in research institutes, other divisions of the State Corporation, and can also be useful in the structures of external customers.
The industry operator of the EOTP is a private institution for ensuring scientific development of the nuclear industry "Science and Innovations".
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About educational programs
The scientific internship program "Rosatom Growth Laboratory" has been implemented since 2020. During this time, more than 500 students from Russian universities from Moscow to Vladivostok and Sevastopol have become its participants. More than 150 graduates of the internship received permanent scientific positions (up to the head of the laboratory) and continue to work in scientific institutes of the nuclear industry, and are also members of the Council of Young Scientists of the State Corporation Rosatom. More than 140 employees of the scientific division act as scientific supervisors - mentors of interns. In 2023, the number of interns in the scientific division of Rosatom increased by almost 30%: students from 27 Russian universities were accepted, including NRNU MEPhI, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Mendeleyev University of Chemical Technology of Russia, and NUST MISIS.
Rosatom Scientific Schools is an industry educational project aimed at developing the scientific and technical competencies of young researchers, expanding their horizons, attracting and retaining talented youth in the scientific sector of Rosatom, providing young scientists with access to the results of the latest research, creating a space for informal communication in the expert environment, developing scientific communication, and forming the main development trends in scientific topics.
The project has been implemented since 2019. The training format involves complete immersion in the problems. Twice a year, about 50 young specialists under 35 (at the level of a research fellow, junior research fellow) participate in lectures, master classes, discussions, technical tours to the main scientific centers of the country and the industry during the working week (5 days). Based on the results of the training, each participant forms and presents an action plan for the next six months to a year. It should include, among other things, activities to prepare for the defense of a dissertation (publications, conferences, etc.) or further professional development.
Scientific School "Radiochemical Technologies" is a project initiative of the scientific division of the State Corporation "Rosatom", which includes various events aimed at attracting talented young people to the field of science and innovation, training elite specialists in the field of radiochemistry, and developing scientific and technical competencies of employees of nuclear industry organizations. The age of participants is up to 35 years. The first stream of the school was held in 2022-2023.
Scientific School "New Materials and Technologies for Advanced Energy Systems" is a project initiative of the scientific division of the State Corporation "Rosatom", which includes various events aimed at attracting talented young people to the field of science and innovation, training elite specialists in the field of new materials and technologies. The opening and first module of the school are scheduled for July 2024.
The Center for Support of Dissertations Candidates is implementing a program to support employees preparing to defend their dissertations. The program includes training events, an information resource containing memos, webinar recordings, information on scientific publications of the division's employees, a database of dissertation councils and scientific supervisors with the ability to search by scientific interests.
Advanced Engineering School of MAST
The Scientific Division of the State Corporation "Rosatom" acts as an industrial partner of the Advanced Engineering School of NUST MISIS "Materials Science, Additive and End-to-End Technologies" (PISH MAST).
The school trains highly qualified specialists in several breakthrough areas: digital materials science, additive technologies, metallurgy and mechanical engineering technologies, biomaterials and 3D bioprinting.