Russia
N.A. Dollezhal Scientific Research and Design Institute of Energy Technologies (NIKIET)
This page is part of the Facilities Collection.
Founded in 1952, NIKIET is one of the largest nuclear technology and engineering research and development centers in Russia. The Institute, established to develop nuclear power systems for nuclear submarines, designed the nuclear propulsion system of the Soviet Union’s first nuclear submarine in 1954. NIKIET also designed the first Soviet nuclear power reactors. 1
More than 50 submarines have been developed based on NIKIET’s first nuclear propulsion design. Its nuclear power plant designs have been used in the design of RBMK-type reactor. Since its inception, the Institute has led or participated in the development of 27 research reactors in Russia and abroad. It served as the lead designer for Russia’s highest powered research reactors, including its newest one, the PIK at the B.P. Konstantinov St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute (PNPI) in Gatchina. 2
Today NIKIET continues to design reactors, including for naval propulsion, to research reactor materials and reactor physics, and to develop and test instruments and control systems for the nuclear power industry. It houses a Rosatom center dealing with the management of submarine dismantlement. 3 The Institute also has an a critical assembly, powered by highly-enriched uranium (HEU). 4 For an overview of Russia’s HEU policy and the full list of Russia’s facilities using HEU, see the Russia Civilian HEU profile.
The Institute actively cooperates with foreign partners. It participates in the International Atomic Energy Agency‘s International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project; works with the European Nuclear Research Center (CERN); and conducts research within the framework of the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC). The Institute also participates in the European Union’s TACIS and EBRD Nuclear Safety Account projects, and collaborates with Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Lithuania. 5
Glossary
- Nuclear energy
- Nuclear energy: The energy liberated by a nuclear reaction (fission or fusion), or by radioactive decay.
- Nuclear reactor
- Nuclear reactor: A vessel in which nuclear fission may be sustained and controlled in a chain nuclear reaction. The varieties are many, but all incorporate certain features, including: fissionable or fissile fuel; a moderating material (unless the reactor is operated on fast neutrons); a reflector to conserve escaping neutrons; provisions of removal of heat; measuring and controlling instruments; and protective devices.
- Research reactor
- Research reactor: Small fission reactors designed to produce neutrons for a variety of purposes, including scientific research, training, and medical isotope production. Unlike commercial power reactors, they are not designed to generate power.
- Dismantlement
- Dismantlement: Taking apart a weapon, facility, or other item so that it is no longer functional.
- Highly enriched uranium (HEU)
- Highly enriched uranium (HEU): Refers to uranium with a concentration of more than 20% of the isotope U-235. Achieved via the process of enrichment. See entry for enriched uranium.
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- IAEA: Founded in 1957 and based in Vienna, Austria, the IAEA is an autonomous international organization in the United Nations system. The Agency’s mandate is the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, technical assistance in this area, and verification that nuclear materials and technology stay in peaceful use. Article III of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) requires non-nuclear weapon states party to the NPT to accept safeguards administered by the IAEA. The IAEA consists of three principal organs: the General Conference (of member states); the Board of Governors; and the Secretariat. For additional information, see the IAEA.
- Fuel Cycle
- Fuel Cycle: A term for the full spectrum of processes associated with utilizing nuclear fission reactions for peaceful or military purposes. The “front-end” of the uranium-plutonium nuclear fuel cycle includes uranium mining and milling, conversion, enrichment, and fuel fabrication. The fuel is used in a nuclear reactor to produce neutrons that can, for example, produce thermal reactions to generate electricity or propulsion, or produce fissile materials for weapons. The “back-end” of the nuclear fuel cycle refers to spent fuel being stored in spent fuel pools, possible reprocessing of the spent fuel, and ultimately long-term storage in a geological or other repository.
Sources
- "О предприятии - Историческая справка" [About the Enterprise - Historical Reference], (ОАО) Ордена Ленина научно-исследовательский и конструкторский институт энерготехники имени Н.А. Доллежаля (НИКИЭТ) (OJSC) [N. A. Dollezhal Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering (NIKIET)], www.nikiet.ru.
- "О предприятии - Историческая справка" [About the Enterprise - Historical Reference], (ОАО) Ордена Ленина научно-исследовательский и конструкторский институт энерготехники имени Н.А. Доллежаля (НИКИЭТ) (OJSC) [N. A. Dollezhal Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering (NIKIET)], www.nikiet.ru.
- "О предприятии - Историческая справка" [About the Enterprise - Historical Reference], (ОАО) Ордена Ленина научно-исследовательский и конструкторский институт энерготехники имени Н.А. Доллежаля (НИКИЭТ) (OJSC) [N. A. Dollezhal Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering (NIKIET)], www.nikiet.ru.
- "Research Reactors: Russia," International Panel on Fissile Materials, www.fissilematerials.org.
- "Международное сотрудничество" [International Cooperation], (ОАО) Ордена Ленина научно-исследовательский и конструкторский институт энерготехники имени Н.А. Доллежаля (НИКИЭТ) (OJSC) [N. A. Dollezhal Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering (NIKIET)], www.nikiet.ru.