Happy Nuclear Industry Employee Day of the Republic of Kazakhstan!

Dear Colleagues!

Please accept my sincere congratulations on your professional holiday- Nuclear Industry Employee Day!

Celebrating our professional holiday, we, as always, summarize preliminary results of our work for the year, assess our achievements. And this year is no exception.

This year we have achieved remarkable results in many areas of scientific research.

The project to reduce the use of highly enriched uranium has been successfully implemented.

At the reactor IVG.1M, all integrated reactor and material-testing studies of experimental channels with LEU-fuel has been completed, their operability in the reactor has been demonstrated.

On May 6, 2022, the physical start-up of IVG.1M reactor with low-enriched uranium fuel was successfully carried out. After implementation of the next stage – power start-up - it is planned that IVG1.M reactor to be decommissioned. This is the first half of 2023.

In parallel, we are creating the necessary infrastructure for the management with spent highly enriched nuclear fuel of IVG.1M reactor. The option of packaging and disposition of SNF for temporary storage with parallel development of its utilization technology is under consideration.

We have held a number of meetings with our U.S. partners, who highly assessed our achievements in this area.

As part of nuclear power safety, ID-7 in-pile reactor experiment was successfully conducted. This event marked the completion of an important stage of multi-year international research program EAGLE, implemented at the National Nuclear Center of RK commissioned by the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency.

The unique experimental data obtained will be used to support technical solutions in the design of future advanced reactors aimed at mitigating the consequences in the event of a severe melting accident of core materials.

We have achieved significant results in carrying out the research and development work on the practical implementation of 7-year period contract with the French Atomic Energy Commission and alternative energy sources for the implementation of SAIGA project, and completed research with Russian colleagues of Dollezhal project BREST-OD-300 JSC NIKIET.

The new direction of hydrogen power was developed. The laboratory area of hydrogen and thermonuclear power was opened.

Regarding controlled thermonuclear fusion at Tokamak KTM, in the course of recent experimental campaign, the plasma parameters has significantly improved, that is the next planned step to put it to the design parameters of operation.

Regarding non-proliferation, the research has begun to identify hazardous facilities at two new sites Balapan and Sary-Uzen. We are completing the modernization of physical protection systems on RRC “Baikal-1” and RRC IGR. We started construction of a complex of structures of the Emergency Technical Center.

We continue to operate our seismic and infrasound monitoring stations and to comply with all the obligations taken under international treaties.

Regarding the radiation ecology, we continue the work on radiation survey of the Balapan site, provided radiation support to enterprises engaged in economic activities at the STS. We developed and approved the Methodology for conducting Comprehensive Environmental Survey of land areas tested with nuclear weapons, acquired new equipment that allows full individual radiation monitoring under various radiation scenarios.

All planned construction, installation and repair works have been fully completed.

We still have many plans, new projects ahead.

I believe that our scientific, technical and industrial capability, your high professionalism will ensure successful solution of the tasks assigned to us.

On this holiday, I wish you and your family a good health, well-being and successful implementation of the future plans! Wishing prosperity to the nuclear industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan!

Erlan Batyrbekov, Director General