Rosatom was a major participant in the Innoprom-2024 International Industrial Forum and Exhibition in Yekaterinburg. The delegation was led by Rosatom First Deputy General Director and Director of the Development & International Business Unit, Kirill Komarov. “Today, the Russian nuclear industry has transformed into an integrator of key high-tech solutions. The development of these competencies gives a powerful impetus to ensuring the technological sovereignty of both Russia and partner countries, and for the long term ensures the involvement of large, medium and small businesses in large-scale high-tech projects,” he noted.
Innoprom is an international industrial exhibition, which has been held annually in Yekaterinburg since 2010. It is organised with the support of Russia’s Ministry of Industry & Trade and the government of the Sverdlovsk region. It is a testing ground for discussing technological development and industrial policy.
A session on Industry digital platforms as a tool for economic transformation and technological independence, discussed the development of digital platforms designed to give Russian industrial enterprises access to industrial software comparable to world leaders, as well as new digital products intended to offer advantages in international competition.
Rosatom Director of Digitalisation, Ekaterina Solntseva, recalled that in May 2024, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin was presented with a national CAD/SAE platform which made it possible to combine products from various Russian vendors to enable joint calculations in solving production problems. Thanks to the integration of engineering software from several developers, it was possible to increase the functionality of domestic SAE-class solutions from 65% to 85% of the level of world leaders.
“We are actively involved in the work on digital platforms. This is the stage that follows a period of import substitution. Over the past two years, enterprises have focused on replacing imported software with Russian software, which has led to heterogeneity of the IT landscape. And although different solutions can be compatible with each other, complex integration processes slow down the process of industrial production.”
She added: “Our goal is not only to develop digital products with functionality comparable to the best in the world but also to provide our industry with innovative digital solutions that will give the Russian industry competitive advantages. The principle of three Cs – consolidation, cooperation and coordination – will help us. Our task is to move faster than international companies.”
During the session Cooperation approach as a tool for increasing the pace and quality of industrial transition to domestic SAE-class software, Olga Tolstunova, Vice President for Digitalisation at Rosatom’s Engineering Division discussed the Logos SAE system. She noted the increased ease of working with the product, pointing out the importance of overcoming “blind spots” in the Russian industrial software market. She said the maturity of a number of domestic software products had already reached the level needed to enter the international market.
The session on Automation and robotisation of the fuel and energy sector… from the Arctic Circle to immense deserts,” the focus was on technologies that transform extraction, production, logistics and construction of high-tech fuel and energy facilities.
“Automation and robotisation are certainly an important link in the development of technology: in the coming years, Russia will have to develop and bring to market new innovative equipment, and without the integration of various automation systems, it is difficult to talk about technological leadership,” said Evgeny Abakumov, Director of Information Infrastructure at Rosatom. “International cooperation with partners from friendly countries is also an integral part of the discussion. The cooperation of our scientific, technical and engineering areas will make possible a serious breakthrough in the development of innovative solutions.”
Andrey Butko, General Director of Rosatom Automated Control Systems noted: “In addition to the technologies that have historically been developed for our NPPs, both in the Arctic Circle and in hot and desert climates, to ensure their uninterrupted operation, we are improving the approaches that we use at different stages of the project life cycle; many practices are ready to be replicated. The key to the development of cooperation, the creation of new energy facilities and the necessary accompanying infrastructure is standardisation, unity of approaches to regulating automation in Russia and partner countries.” He noted Rosatom’s readiness to co-operate not only in the field of nuclear energy, but also in other high-tech areas for which there is a demand in the countries where Rosatom operates.
Digital acceleration of industry: artificial intelligence, robotization and unmanned factories included discussions of successful implementation of AI in the real industrial sector and prospects for the emergence of production facilities built using the dark factory method. “The development of industrial artificial intelligence is one of the promising areas that Rosatom is working on today in terms of increasing production efficiency,” said Evgeny Garanin, Vice President for Digitalisation and Information Technologies at fuel company TVEL. “In Rosatom’s Fuel Division, there are already a number of cases of using technology that show a real effect both in reducing labour costs and improving the quality of finished products….We want to show that increased implementation of AI in industry is not the distant future, but the reality of today.”
At a session on Low-carbon market in Russia: challenges, proposals, prospects, growth, Dmitry Rodionov, head of the department for working with the wholesale electricity and capacity market at Rosenegoatom noted the growing interest in low-carbon electricity from nuclear power plants. “Now that environmental issues are included in the state development programme and solving environmental problems has become one of the national goals, we can confidently talk about the growing demand for electricity from low-carbon NPPs. Nuclear power — is a reliable and stable source of such electricity.” He said Rosenergoatom had joined the national system of voluntary certification of low-carbon generating facilities and received the right to sell atomic certificates confirming that the electricity consumed by the company is low-carbon. This is being implemented at the Leningrad, Kalinin and Balakov NPPs.
“Global technological leadership is one of Rosatom’s strategic goals,” Rosatom’s Director for Management of Scientific & Technical Programmes & Projects, Natalya Ilyina, noted during the session on Outlines of Innovation in Industry. “Today, advanced nuclear technologies open up new opportunities in energy, medicine and other areas. We provide critical technologies not only for the nuclear industry, but also for other industries and are ready to share research, development, technologies, competencies, offering unique projects to create infrastructure for research, as well as to develop a regulatory framework, localise production and train specialists.”
Development of industrial 3D printing in various industries was discussed at a meeting on Prospects for the implementation of additive technologies in Russia based on industry leaders, organised by the Association for the Development of Additive Technologies (ARAT Аssoisiatsiei Sostiastiei Razvitiya Additivnikh Tekhnologii). “The trend in additive technologies in Russia today is industrial printing with metals,” noted Ilya Kavelashvili, Director of the Additive Technologies business area Rosatom’s Fuel Division. “Our company deals with metal 3D printers as a priority. At the exhibition we presented the updated model RusMelt 310M, which consists of 70% domestic components and runs on Russian software. Based on feedback from consumers, we finalised the technical characteristics of the device, and the updated model went into mass production.”
