by Marina MALYGINA, journalist

In June 2011, the Central Exhibition Hall Manezh (Moscow), under the auspices of the State Nuclear Energy Corporation ROSATOM, hosted the 3rd International Forum Atomexpo, that gathered over 1,200 participants from 47 countries. Top managers and experts of leading national and foreign companies, heads of state-owned companies and non-governmental organizations and specialists discussed global development trends of nuclear industry, achievements and prospects of related innovative technologies.

Compared with the previous year, the number of delegates increased by 30 percent, and the exhibition area--twofold. The leading enterprises of national nuclear industry--TVEL, Atomstroiexport, Atomenergomash, Uranium Holding Atomredmetzoloto, Rusnano established to develop nanotechnologies, Skolkovo Foundation--and their foreign partners: Areva, EDF, Alstom (France), CEA (USA), Siemens, Nukem Technologies (Germany), China National Nuclear Corp. (China) took part in the forum. The intense interest of foreign businessmen in this sphere is apparent: according to the most conservative estimates, in the 21st century the overall energy consumption on the planet will double, and the world community is already concerned about a possible shortage of energy and search for the most efficient power sources.

Our country placed stakes on nuclear technologies long ago. According to specialists, at the moment Russia is undergoing the "revival" of nuclear industry: by 2020 we are planning to put into operation 26 power-generating units, which is more than the country built in the Soviet period. The state is ready to appropriate RUR 674 bin to develop this sector of economic activity before 2015 and about RUR 1.5 trln, including business investments, for the whole program of energy-generating complex modernization. That is why the issue "Development of nuclear power industry: break or renewal?" submitted for discussion to congress delegates, is of present interest for us and other participants of the forum despite of the recent accident at the Fukusima Nuclear Power Station (Japan). This was clearly set in the speech delivered by Sergei Kirienko, Director of Rosatom, according to him, nuclear power is one of the crucial conditions for a sustainable development of global economy for at least several next decades. "Fission and fusion reactions can increase energy-out-put ratio per one kilogram of source materials by millions,--he stated.--This proves an immense potential of the energy source under consideration, therefore, it is impossible to cease or somehow limit its development."

Moreover, according to Kirienko, nuclear industry is of high importance to maintain a sustainable ecological situation on the planet. Modern nuclear power stations reduce CO₂ emissions by 1.7 bln t annually. Simultaneous decommissioning of NPSs would increase hazardous emissions by one third with catastrophic consequences for all flesh. Besides, this industry promotes sound use of natural resources by way of preservation of hydrocarbon for descendants. Finally, it contributes to the development of machine building, space technologies, nano- and biomedical technologies. Data of scientific monitoring have demonstrated: countries contributing a lot to accelerate growth of global economy have a vast experience in development of nuclear industry and keep expanding it.

Kirienko emphasized that in recent years Rosatom has enlarged a package of services rendered to the partners: the company builds not only ready-to-operate objects, but can also put them into operation and become one of the stakeholders of the project, if so requested by the customer. For example, the project in Turkey. "We shall construct and operate a power station there; we signed a contract on power sales for 15-20 years. Rosatom is planning to purchase a share in the Metsamorskaya NPS in Armenia and Belene NPS in Bulgaria".

The company is ready to form consortiums with local companies specializing in construction of relevant

objects. The first step in this direction was made in India: two power-generating units of the Kudankulam NPS are already built; construction of the third and fourth units is officially confirmed and scheduled. The same scheme of cooperation will be used to build power stations in Czechia and Ukraine.

Kirienko pointed out that security is one of the compulsory conditions for a large-scale development of nuclear industry. Till now the so-called "probabilistic approach" was broadly accepted, i.e. experts proceeded from the assumption that a tragic event can happen once in a million years, i.e., it can be ignored from economical point of view. But the accident at the Fukusima NPS revealed groundlessness of this idea. Kirienko proposed to turn to a deterministic approach that guarantees life and security of population even in the most incredible natural settings. What shall be done for it? The international expert pool should inspect reliability and safety of operating NPSs and objects under construction in different countries of the world. It is necessary to modify laws--the key role in this process is assigned to the IAEA (Vienna, Austria). "We believe that after Fukusima we should introduce security standards as a norm of international law binding for all countries," Rosatom head stated. He also reminded of a dominating role of the state in making managerial decisions during nuclear disasters. "We should not let the operating company challenge the accident alone,--Kirienko said.--The state should engage in the process right from the beginning, otherwise the consequences will increase drastically."

Then, he proposed to speed up transition to new technologies of the so-called "natural security", when the nuclear fuel cycle is closed and ecological impact of nuclear industry is minimized. "The listed tasks are not of local nature, they are global," Kirienko concluded.

The United States Secretary of Power Engineering Steven Chu and Bernard Bigo, Chairman of the French Commissariat for Nuclear Energy, also delivered detailed reports at the final plenary meeting.

Round tables aimed to discuss current problems of nuclear industry development were organized for the participants of the forum: "Resistance of modern nuclear reactor systems to natural disasters. Lessons of Fukusima", "Promising NPS construction projects on the basis of Russian technologies", "Nuclear industry infrastructure for newcomers", "Perspectives of nuclear education", "Power machinery construction. International cooperation", "New technological platform to produce uranium using geotechnological methods", "Investment projects in nuclear industry". The last one is worth speaking about in more detail.

Kirill Komarov, Rosatom Director General for Development and International Business, who opened the meeting of the round table informed: a new company--Rosatom Overseas--was established to implement construction projects in third countries; it will also act as a "customer, general contractor and owner of nuclear power generation abroad" and attract financial resources for these purposes from all over the world.

For the last year, national nuclear industry experienced a series of structural changes. Nikolai Salomon, First Deputy of Rosatom Director General for Corporate Operations, chief financial director of Rosatom, said: our state corporation positioning itself as

a "global technological leader" adopted the Corporate Strategy 2030. The main objective is to be in the leading top 3 in all key lines of nuclear business: construction of NPSs, production of uranium and its enrichment, as well as production of nuclear fuel. The main accent is made on the expansion of unconventional services. "By 2030, we are planning to derive about 25-30 percent of the income from new products,"--the speaker explained.

Delegates of the forum were concerned about financial issues in connection with the future projects of the company. Leonid Vanyan, representative of the bank community, head of the Department of Power Engineering of OJSC Sberbank, reported that its structural division will open a credit line in the amount of up to USD 5 bin to complete construction of power units of the Khmelnitskaya NPS in Ukraine and up to USD 10 bin for the project of construction of the first nuclear power station in Turkey. "We are ready to extend long-term credits to Rosatom for at least 15 years," he added.

Manezh also hosted a specialized exhibition. National nuclear industry was represented by more than 50 enterprises of Rosatom and its industrial holding companies. Major foreign nuclear market participants also took part in the exhibition. Igor Shuvalov, First Deputy Chairman of the RF Government, John Ritch, Director General of the World Nuclear Association, Takuya Hattori, President of the Japanese Atomic Industrial Forum, Iozef Ronaki, Director General of the Nuclear

Energy Agency of Hungary, Luisa Boero, President of the National Agency for Atomic Energy of Argentina, Luke Ursel, Chief Operating Director of AREVA, and other officials participating in the forum visited the exposition.

Notwithstanding the importance and development prospects of high power nuclear facilities, "small-scale" power units--NPSs generating from 200 kW to 50 mW--designed, among others, by Moscow Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering named after N. Dollezhal, were a real success of the exhibition. The prime advantage of such reactors is their mobility and economic feasibility. One such unit can supply electricity, heat and drinking water for a settlement of 15-20 thous. people. Its estimated service life without reloading of fuel is about 8-15 years, and then the unit is recycled at a centralized base. Such equipment is in great demand in remote areas, experiencing shortages of means for construction of big power plants, laying of heating plants and power transmission lines.

All-Russia Research and Development Institute of Experimental Physics (Sarov, Nizhni Novgorod Region)* demonstrated how information technologies could be applied in nuclear industry. Together with Rosatom it presented a superefficient portable computer (3 Tflop/s) costing 1.5 times less than foreign analogues. Such computers are widely used in aircraft engineering, nuclear industry, machinery construction, oil-and-gas and space industries. However, the main task of Sarov institute is to design national competitive software for simulation modeling that enables scientists to solve problems of gasdynamics, aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, turbulent media mixing and heat transfer.

Designers of the Research and Development Institute of Technical Physics and Automation (Moscow) engaged in developing mechanisms and systems on the basis of the substance-radiation interaction principle presented new radiation technologies and perspective developments to decontaminate gas emissions from sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, recycle solid organic materials by charged particle currents, hydrocarbon gas conversion to a liquid.

Moscow Scientific Production Association Radon exhibited its achievements in the field of recycling of radioactive wastes. It presented plasma-recycling plants Pluton, conditioning of ionizing emission sources of radiation, glazing of high concentration liquid radionuclides. Specialists of the enterprise delivered reports on

*See: V. Lukyanov, "Sarov Nuclear Hermitage". Science in Russia, No. 3. 2009.--Ed.

the efficient technological processes of cementation of radioactive materials.

The unique mobile robotic complex MRK-RP designed by the Research and Design Institute of Assembly Technologies (Moscow), making part of the Investment and Construction Group Atomstroi, was the center of attraction at the exhibition. It is intended for a visual and computer-assisted surveillance during saving operations, rescue and recovery works and fire extinction in the course of fighting against local fires at special objects. This complex equipped with temperature sensors, gas analyzers, radiation control and search gear, infrared TV camera and thermal viewer, showed its capacities in practice.

RosRAO (Moscow)--the only company specializing in recycling of radioactive wastes nationwide--opened a mobile laboratory in Manezh on the basis of a microbus, equipped with a device able to perform in real time mode radiation and dosimetric monitoring at any place, where the laboratory is operating and analyze obtained results. Fourteen similar laboratories that are constantly monitoring radiation safety of people and the environment are already functioning in our country from Murmansk to Khabarovsk. During the exhibition stand workers offered visitors to undergo special tests to measure the level of alpha-, beta- and gamma-radiation. And it is worth saying that this kind of service was very popular.

At the end of the forum, a number of documents were signed. RF Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovand Rosatom head Sergei Kirienko put their signatures under the agreement "On the procedure of direction and conditions of activities of representatives of the State Corporation Rosatom in diplomatic missions and consular institutions". Sergei Lavrov stated: "Russian diplomacy has been always trying to support Russian business abroad, and such assistance will undoubtedly be in high demand."

One of the major suppliers of goods and services in the field of nuclear fuel cycle Russian company Tekhsnabexport and the American company PSEG Nuclear signed a contract on the supply of enriched uranium product to the USA in 2015-2016. The volume of the contract makes up USD 200 mln, it will be able to meet requirements of two nuclear power stations Salema-1 and Salema-2 in New Jersey.

Atomstroiexport, the leading engineering company of Rosatom specializing in construction of nuclear power plants abroad, and Nukem Technologies (Germany) signed a contract on designing and construction of recycling plants for radioactive wastes for the NPS Belene.

Illustrations from the Atompressa newspaper, No. 23, 2011, and other Internet-sources