The Russian government said on 26 May that RUB4.9 billion ($66,6m) will be allocated for the technical retrofitting of the T-15MD tokamak thermonuclear installation located at the Kurchatov Institute. This resolution was approved by the Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Investments are planned for the period 2021-2024. The funds will be spent on improving the complex for additional plasma heating, as a result of which the total heating power will be 11 MW. Cryogenic equipment, physical diagnostics and lithium circulation systems will also be upgraded.
It is expected that the results of studies at the upgraded facility will provide the information necessary to move on to the next step – a stationary thermonuclear neutron source based on a tokamak. The T-15MD will also carry out experiments in support of the international experimental thermonuclear reactor Iter, under construction in France.
The T-15MD installation is a modified version of the T-15 thermonuclear complex that operated at the Kurchatov Institute for 30 years. Earlier in May, Mishustin took part in the launch of the T-15MD.