Technologies. Moscow hosted the first BRICS Quantum Technologies Forum organized by Rosatom. The event brought together scientists, experts, and government officials from BRICS nations who discussed avenues for cooperation in quantum, one of the most promising frontiers in future technology development. Priority cooperation areas include the advancement of science and technology, quantum computing applications, education, and the quantum workforce market development. “BRICS today is an influential international platform with a broad, forward-looking agenda. Integrating quantum into that agenda is our objective. As of today, Russia has a great deal to bring to the quantum table. We have seven quantum computers operating on major platforms, dozens of quantum algorithms, and a wide range of projects in quantum computing, quantum sensing, and quantum communications. This is the body of expertise we are keen to leverage in cooperation,” said Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev.

Equipment. Three Russian-made gyrotron units have been installed at the construction site of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The equipment supply was facilitated by the ITER Project Center (a Rosatom-managed enterprise). Systems critical for the reactor’s startup and successful operation, including auxiliary equipment, were put in place by a team of Russian technicians within six weeks. “The ITER plasma temperatures will be as high as 300 million degrees Celsius, which is 20 times hotter than the Sun’s core. Achieving such temperatures requires enormously complex systems that have never been built before. And our Russian-designed systems with record-breaking technical characteristics will help achieve this,” emphasized Anatoly Krasilnikov, Director of the ITER Project Center.

Expedition. The international competition for a place on the Icebreaker of Knowledge scientific and educational expedition has attracted around 5,000 schoolchildren from 23 countries, with a record number of applications from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus. Based on cumulative scores from the two qualifying rounds, ten finalists have been selected in each country. Now, they must complete a creative assignment. The creators of the best projects will embark this August on a ten-day expedition to the northernmost point of the globe on board the 50 Let Pobedy nuclear icebreaker. The winners will be named on June 23 on the goarctic.energy website. “Competition this year is exceptionally high, and this level of interest demonstrates that science and nuclear technologies are genuinely capturing the imagination of young people worldwide,” noted Alexandra Yustus, Deputy Director General for Communications at Rosatom International Network.