Rosatom State Corporation has approved the investment project of Rusatom Metal Tech LLC (an integrator company of Rosatom's Fuel Division in the Metallurgy area), which provides for an increase in production capacity of heavy-duty copper-niobium alloy wires from the current one ton to five tons per year (or up to 500 thousand km of wires per year).
Plans to increase output are related to the growing demand from high–tech industries - enterprises of aerospace industry, railway transport, electric power and electronics. The key driver for the market is the development of the federal space program - extra thin wires are used for the production of antennas wire mesh of telecommunications satellite responders and shielding materials to protect aerospace equipment from electromagnetic radiation.
"In terms of a set of technical characteristics, such as ultra-high strength and electrical conductivity, wear resistance, heat resistance and minimum weight and size parameters, conductor products made of copper-niobium alloy manufactured by Rosatom have competitors neither in the Russian nor in the world market. The increase in production, secured by state financing, will make it possible to meet the growing demand of the Russian industry for conductor products and strengthen national technological sovereignty," commented Andrey Andrianov, General Director of Rusatom Metal Tech LLC.
"Thanks to cooperation with Rusatom Metal Tech, we could achieve a 2-3-fold reduction in the weight of the shielding elements of cables while achieving better mechanical properties by using thinner and stronger copper-niobium alloy wires with a diameter of 0.05 mm. If compared with foreign analogues, our products have the same performance characteristics as the wires of the leading French manufacturer, but they are better in weight, dimensions and service life," said Mikhail Stoiko, General Director of SPC Ekran LLC.
Today, the Moscow facilities of Rusatom Metal Tech LLC produce a wide range of heavy-duty wires with increased flexibility and electrical conductivity (with a diameter from 0.03 mm to 15 mm) using domestic raw materials and specialized equipment. Moreover, increased reliability requirements are imposed on the products, so that they can be used in various critical industries - aviation, space, nuclear, medical and many others.
The unique products were developed by scientists of the Rosatom's Fuel Division from the Moscow VNIINM JSC named after A. A. Bochvar, an industry competence center in the field of materials science and metrology. The supply of wires to many large scientific centers of the world that use pulsed magnetic spectrometers allowed to increase the level of magnetic fields 1.5-fold, up to a record level of 100 tesla, as well as their working capacity by 100 times.
Reference
The Fuel Division of the Rosatom State Corporation (Rosatom's TVEL Fuel Company) includes enterprises for the manufacture of nuclear fuel, conversion and enrichment of uranium, production of gas centrifuges, as well as research and development organizations. As the sole supplier of nuclear fuel to Russian nuclear power plants, TVEL provides fuel to a total of 70 power reactors in 15 countries, research reactors in nine countries around the world, as well as transport reactors of the Russian nuclear fleet. Every sixth power reactor in the world is powered by TVEL fuel. Rosatom's Fuel Division is the world's largest manufacturer of enriched uranium, as well as the leader of the global stable isotope market. The Fuel Division is actively developing new businesses in the fields of chemistry, metallurgy, energy storage technologies, 3D printing, digital products, as well as decommissioning of nuclear facilities. Rosatom's industry integrators for additive technologies and energy storage systems have been created in the TVEL Fuel Company. http://www.tvel.ru
Rusatom Metallurgical Technologies LLC is a divisional integrator of the TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom in the Metallurgy direction. The tasks of developing the metallurgical business of the Fuel Company include, in particular, expanding the customer base in Russia and abroad, developing production facilities, and creating new alliances and partnerships. Enterprises specializing in the manufacture of products made of refractory and light metals, as well as alloys based on them, are the technological partners of Rusatom Metallurgical Technologies LLC. The integrator consolidates the competencies of TVEL JSC enterprises in the field of metallurgy: ChMZ JSC, MSZ JSC, NCCP PJSC, Elemash Magnit LLC, NPO Centrotech LLC, and VNIINM JSC. The scientific potential, technological competencies, and qualified personnel of enterprises make it possible to carry out work on the launch of mass production of new materials and promising product ranges, as well as promptly respond to the needs of leading industries and high-tech companies.