On the 75th anniversary of the nuclear industry. A necessary component of safety

This year, the employees of the nuclear industry – scientists, design engineers, and those who work on the operation of nuclear reactors – are celebrating a significant date: the 75th anniversary of the creation of the industry. Of course, the media is primarily focused on the leaders of this vast scientific and economic complex. However, in today's world, they are not the only ones ensuring the safe navigation of this "fleet"...

Today, we are interviewing Leonid Katukhin, a former submarine sailor and current CEO of the Obninsk-based management company InnoInvest. Let us emphasize that the abbreviation UK in this case has nothing to do with the communal sphere, this is a completely different story. InnoInvest works in the field of management of small innovative enterprises, which includes Aerofilter LLC, where they develop and supply reliable air filtration systems for nuclear power plants and any other industrial facilities that use nuclear energy.

– Leonid Fedorovich, how would you define the place of Aerofilter in the current Rosatom system?

– Over the past 75 years, nuclear energy has come a long way, with both amazing breakthroughs and sometimes dramatic moments. Our company is relatively new, having only started working in the nuclear industry 12 years ago. However, we are now fully aware of the importance and competitiveness of our products.

In fact, we have received indirect recognition of our status and achievements. Last year, Rosatom took the initiative to develop a national standard for filters for nuclear energy. Previously, we did not have such a standard, which created certain problems in our relations with foreign colleagues, as we often did not understand each other. This task was assigned to us. We created a creative team that included all the players in this market. When we presented the result, the finished national standard, it was accepted almost without any comments, and our proposals were accepted by everyone.

And if we talk more broadly about the place that we occupy in the complex, extensive Rosatom system, I would use an aphorism that exists in the environment... doctors of the veterinary service: "A doctor treats a person, and a veterinarian treats humanity." That's how we are – a small grain of sand in the nuclear power industry, on which much depends. We ensure the health of the environment – the safety of both those who work at nuclear installations and those who live around them.

We develop, manufacture and supply all types of filtration equipment available in enterprises that use nuclear energy. There are 26 types of such gas filtration systems. We make 23 of them based on our own patents. In particular, this year we supplied filter absorber complexes for the Ruppur nuclear power plant, which is under construction in Bangladesh. It is being built according to a Russian project, which includes the construction and commissioning of two power units with VVER-1200 reactors, as part of an intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Bangladesh.

We plan to deliver filters for the second unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant by the end of the year. We also have other orders...

– But you said that your products are in demand not only at nuclear power plants...

– Of course. Over the past few years, we have become regular partners of the manufacturers of Project 22220 nuclear icebreakers. There was serious competition with foreign companies. We won this difficult market competition and became a reliable link in the technological chain of a large and important project for the country.

In addition, Rosneft and the Iceberg project company are currently considering our proposals for providing filtration equipment for the world's largest nuclear icebreaker, the Leader. It will be built in Primorye and equipped with four Rif-series nuclear reactors.

And there are only two regular customers of our products in the Kaluga region. And both, of course, in Obninsk are the Physics and Energy Institute and the Medical Radiological Research Center. By the way, FEI sometimes acts as our contractor.

– Has the global "pandemic" crisis affected your production in any way?

– In general, we did not feel any problems. There were certain costs in connection with the provision of sanitary conditions, some of the staff worked remotely, but we did not reduce anyone, but even slightly increased the staff. The fact is that there are only three or four companies like Aerofiltr in Russia. And only two of them are entering the foreign market – we are one of them.

Now in the portfolio of orders "MC InnoInvest" has a reserve for about five years, so we look at the future with confidence. And then, we carefully calculate economic risks. The setting is simple: the price of risk should not be higher than the benefit. If we understand that we will not be able to bring the development to the market within two years – we do not undertake, no matter how attractive the offer.

Source: "Obninsk Vestnik" No. 35 from 24.09.2020

Interviewed by V. Khlystov