Fusion energy draws much attention from the Russian nuclear community. The national thermonuclear program is advancing, and so is the full-fledged cooperation within the ITER project.

Domestic plans

The immediate goals of the Russian thermonuclear program are to achieve design parameters for a T 15MD tokamak at the Kurchatov Institute and develop a ‘reactor technology’ tokamak at the Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Thermonuclear Research (TRINITI).
T 15MD is an operational tokamak, which was test-launched in May 2021. In March 2023, it generated high-temperature plasma for the first time. Then, during two series of experiments, researchers developed algorithms for producing plasma discharges and managed to create a magnetic field with a magnitude of 1 Tesla and maintain it for 30 seconds. In December 2023, researchers produced a discharge with a plasma current of 260 kA and duration of over two seconds. The temperature of plasma electrons reached nearly 40 million degrees, which is twice the temperature at the center of the Sun.

To improve the performance of T 15MD, it is planned to equip it with auxiliary plasma heating, current maintenance and diagnostic systems, install a divertor, and clad the chamber with graphite.

The reactor technology tokamak (RTT) is being developed as a full-scale experimental prototype of a fusion reactor or a neutron source. It is designed to study plasma behavior in quasi-­stationary modes, study and improve auxiliary plasma heating and fuel delivery methods, and much more. The RTT will be built in Troitsk, Russia.

Development of its concept design and diagnostic equipment began in 2021. Expected to be completed by the end of 2024, this phase will be followed by detailed engineering, which will begin in 2025. In addition to the tokamak itself, engineers will have to develop many peripheral systems for diagnostics, plasma heating and current generation. The plan is to test-launch the reactor in 2035 and generate the first plasma in 2036.

Russia pays great attention to thermonuclear technology. The government-­sponsored Thermonuclear Energy Technologies federal program will be implemented in 2025–2030 as part of the national umbrella-like New Nuclear and Energy Technologies project. The federal program provides for research into controlled thermonuclear fusion and development of innovative plasma technologies, and will involve efforts from Rosatom Group companies, the Kurchatov Institute, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The program also provides for building (upgrading and retrofitting) a number of test stands and installations for the development and improvement of basic thermonuclear and plasma solutions.

Another R&D area will comprise studies on the interaction between plasma and plasma-­facing components using test instrumentation, digital control equipment and data collection systems at an experimental tokamak facility. Finally, the federal program provides for the development of regulatory acts governing the use of thermonuclear and hybrid systems, including for licensing purposes.

The projects that are being developed in Russia by Rosatom, the Kurchatov Institute and other organizations contribute to the development of fusion technology worldwide. “Fusion is one of the most open fields of research these days. I think it will continue to remain so, at least until the technology begins to be commercialized,” Director of Rosatom’s ITER Center Anatoly Krasilnikov said in an interview with the Novy Atomny Ekspert (New Nuclear Expert) magazine.

ITER and international cooperation

Rosatom is a key contributor to the ITER project. It should be recalled that the international thermonuclear project was initiated by the Soviet Union back in the 1980s. It was first agreed between the leaders of the USSR and the US, Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan, and then Euratom and Japan joined the project. These four partners developed the engineering design of the thermonuclear reactor. This was when China, India and South Korea joined the ITER.

The overarching goal of the project is to build an experimental thermonuclear reactor with high-temperature deuterium-­tritium plasma. The reactor must be able to ignite and, more importantly, sustain it for 500 to 1,000 seconds. “It’s like with a bicycle: if you maintain balance for two or three seconds, it doesn’t mean you can ride it. We need to maintain plasma for a long enough time,” Anatoly Krasilnikov explained to the Novy Atomny Ekspert.

Russia has been supplying fusion equipment for several years as part of its ITER contribution. Superconductors and the PF1 magnetic coil have been delivered in full. The shipments of switchgear equipment are continuing, with about 30 to 40 trucks sent to the construction site every year. Eighteen upper ducts of the vacuum vessel have been manufactured and are being prepared for shipment. They are needed for the installation of diagnostic systems, heating equipment and pumping devices. Russia is also responsible for supplying eight out of 24 gyrotrons (these devices are used for auxiliary plasma heating and current generation). The Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences has manufactured them, with four already delivered to the site. Their installation will begin by the end of the year. The ninth gyrotron will be manufactured in 2025 as a spare part. However, their number may grow since the ITER Organization decided to increase the capacity of the electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) system.

The plans for the next few years include the delivery of port plugs. These are complex structures that host plasma diagnostics, test blanket modules, elements of the ion and electron cyclotron heating systems, and other hardware.

Russia is manufacturing four test stands for testing port plugs. In late August this year, a steel frame weighing over 20 tonnes for the first of these test stands was shipped to the ITER site in Cadarache, France. Other equipment for these stands will be shipped to France by the end of the year.

Another task entrusted to Russia is the production of the first wall facing plasma. It should have high mechanical strength, vacuum density, thermal and electrical conductivity, high heat resistance, and also resistance to thermal cyclic loads and radiation exposure.
The wall was first planned to be made of beryllium, but its toxicity and obvious difficulties with obtaining necessary permits made it clear that it would be faster to try another material. Tungsten was chosen for being non-toxic and having a much higher melting point. However, there is a risk that tungsten particles will get into plasma, decreasing its temperature, so much more energy will be needed for heating. Russian researchers suggested shielding tungsten with a boron carbide coating as in the design of Russian tokamaks. The proposal was accepted, and the R&D works began.

In October, Pietro Barabaschi, Director General of the ITER Organization, came to Russia to discuss the prospects, difficulties and solutions to the problems of the ITER project. He visited laboratories of Moscow’s ITER Project Center (part of Rosatom), Efremov Research Institute of Electrophysical Equipment, and the Ioffe Institute of Physics and Technology, and had a meeting with the inspirer and initiator of the ITER project and Honorary President of the Kurchatov Institute Evgeny Velikhov and Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev.

When visiting the ITER Center in Moscow, Pietro Barabaschi was shown how artificial single crystal diamonds are grown and how diagnostic systems for the fusion reactor are developed. At the meeting with Alexey Likhachev, he discussed issues related to the implementation of the ITER project. “We have some difficulties with the supply of equipment from Russia, but this is not so important compared to other problems of the project,” Pietro Barabaschi said at the press conference.

Prospects of the project were in the spotlight of the discussion. “This visit is very important for us. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project is now at the crossroads as its members are discussing a new ‘baseline’. The timing and costs of the project may change dramatically. Russian companies need complete information from the immediate head of the project,” Anatoly Krasilnikov said.

The parties were satisfied with the results of the meeting. “I am genuinely happy with the visit of my colleague Pietro Barabaschi to Russia. We had an open and trusting conversation in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and common focus on success,” Alexey Likhachev said.

“ITER is a remarkable example of international cooperation, where science unites nations in pursuit of a common goal,” Pietro Barabaschi said. “The input made by Russia, as well as by any other ITER member, is of utmost importance as it shows a shared commitment to the development of fusion energy that will exist for the benefit of all mankind. This input spans every aspect of the project, from critical components to key technological innovations. As we move forward, it is the global spirit of collaboration that remains the cornerstone of success, ensuring progress of one of the most ambitious scientific projects of our time.”

Development of academic and personal ties, advancements in technology and research, production of sophisticated equipment, current and forward-­looking financial and legal support — all these things testify to Russia’s commitment to facilitating thermonuclear technology and putting it into practice.

ITER stands for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. It is also the Latin for ‘the way’ or ‘the path’.