Plasma motor: thermonuclear reactors will help to make interplanetary flights

Key developments for cosmonautics and energy, which Russian scientists and engineers are working on, are being discussed at the 53rd International Conference on Plasma Physics and Sustainable Thermonuclear Fusion. Among the topics are the creation of engines that will allow deep space exploration, and the first prototypes of thermonuclear power plants. The Scientific forum opened on March 16 in Zvenigorod, Moscow region. The platform brought together experts in the field of thermonuclear technologies from Russia and other countries. The main organizers of the event are the Rosatom State Corporation, the Kurchatov Institute Research Center and the Russian Academy of Sciences.

About engines for space and energy for Earth

Russian scientists are actively developing a thermonuclear (plasma) engine for spacecraft. It will make it possible to reduce the flight time of ships to other planets tenfold, open the era of regular cargo flights and create the opportunity for manned missions into deep space. Mikhail Kovalchuk, President of the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center, announced this at the 53rd International Zvenigorod Conference on Plasma Physics and Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion.

— The feature of this technology is the use of an open trap for plasma retention. This concept was proposed by Hersh Budker and Igor Golovin, the prototype of the installation was created at the Kurchatov Institute. Later, the developments were continued at the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which currently serves as the competence center on this topic," he said.

Mikhail Kovalchuk also noted the results achieved at one of the classic thermonuclear reactors, the T—15MD facility at the Kurchatov Institute Research and Development Center. He recalled that the tokamak was physically launched on May 18, 2021. Just two years later, it produced the first high-temperature plasma in a round shape, and in April 2025, its divertor configuration. This is the plasma retention mode, in which it acquires the shape necessary for the full operation of a thermonuclear reactor.

The next step is to create a thermonuclear neutron source based on the T—15MD. By irradiating thorium-232 atoms with these particles, specialists will be able to produce the fissile isotope uranium-233, a promising nuclear fuel for new—generation reactors. Thus, Russian scientists intend to integrate tokamaks into a closed cycle in which spent nuclear fuel is recycled and used again in other types of reactors. According to Mikhail Kovalchuk, such a project may turn out to be more promising for implementation than "classical" thermonuclear energy.

"The breakthrough is the beginning of a new stage, a new chapter in the development of global nuclear energy"

Physicist Elena Rodina — about the future of nuclear energy

How will thermonuclear power plants be built

Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom Corporation, noted the successful cooperation of Russian scientists with foreign colleagues within the framework of the ITER project, an international experimental tokamak that is being created to test and refine technologies for controlled thermonuclear fusion as a source of virtually inexhaustible energy.

— There are a number of unsolved problems in tokamak plasma physics. We are talking about preventing disruptions, suppressing instabilities, choosing the optimal plasma cord section, and so on. These are engineering tasks that domestic specialists are working on within the framework of international cooperation," said the head of Rosatom.

One of the most ambitious projects of Russian nuclear scientists is the creation of a TRT — tokamak with reactor technologies. This is a "transitional link" from research reactors to future "working" installations. TRT is a prototype of a thermonuclear power plant, where technologies will be developed for further practice. The successful implementation of the pilot project in the future will allow, by analogy, to build compact, powerful and safe thermonuclear power plants.

"Realizing over the next decade the possibility of generating electricity as a product of thermonuclear energy is an extremely inspiring, but extremely difficult task," said Alexey Likhachev.

He stressed that specialists will have to return to the experience of the "founding fathers" of the nuclear industry - simultaneously erect a large scientific and industrial facility and create a theory for it, test it and implement it in the form of research and development work.

Zvenigorod conference will last until March 20 inclusive. The forum's program will cover a wide range of scientific fields, from magnetic and inertial fusion research to the study of physical processes in low—temperature plasma and the development of plasma technologies. Separate sections will be devoted to the issues of materials science, plasma diagnostics and the introduction of innovative solutions into the energy systems of the future.