NUCLEAR ENERGY

The technologies developed for the large particle accelerators and detectors of fundamental physics experiments have promising applications in the context of nuclear energy production in fission power plants and future fusion facilities. The institute has dedicated the strategic INFN-Energy project to this promising sector.
The main applications in this sector are: the creation of devices for monitoring and diagnostics of fission and fusion plants and for managing radioactive waste generated by the fission power plants; and the development of technologies used in auxiliary systems for nuclear fusion.

The main applications in this sector are: the creation of devices for monitoring and diagnostics of fission and fusion plants and for managing radioactive waste generated by the fission power plants; and the development of technologies used in auxiliary systems for nuclear fusion.
Radioactive waste that is produced during the operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants, or during their decommissioning when a plant closes, is kept safely. It is also monitored so as to ensure that it does not come into contact with the surrounding environment. With the contribution of the European project MICADO, the combination of various technologies for characterising waste was studied and the analysis, collection, and storage of data, with the most modern digital applications, was developed. In MICADO, INFN has developed compact, flexible, and inexpensive sensors for detecting gamma rays and neutrons emitted by waste, which have been successfully tested.

A cask with the muon trackers built by the INFN next to it (mounted on the blue supports). The cosmic muons detected by the trackers also pass through the container, allowing its contents to be inspected. (© INFN)

The tubular gamma ray sensors and the compact box neutron sensors (left) developed for MICADO. (©INFN)

With the contribution of the European project PREDIS, these gamma-ray and neutron sensors were proposed for controlling cemented waste and were equipped with special electronic devices able to transmit data on wi-fi networks. Finally, with the contribution of the European project CLEANDEM, compact, gamma-ray and neutron sensors were mounted on robots, which can undertake preventive reconnaissance of zones where it is necessary to intervene during decommissioning operations. This ensures greater safety for operators.
Another example of managing and controlling radioactive waste consists in the monitoring of containers for spent nuclear fuel, called “casks”, built to screen radiation and protect the contents. Thanks to muon tomography, it is possible to obtain a three-dimensional scan of the contents, just as with a medical CT scan you obtain images from inside a patient. This makes it possible, for example, to establish whether all the fuel elements are present and do not present anomalies. It has important applications in the context of controls that the national and international agencies perform on nuclear installations, to monitor their state and prevent offences.

Another field in which the technology developed for studying fundamental physics has important applications is research into fusion, on which we are working as a future source of clean electricity. In particular, in “magnetic confinement nuclear fusion”, where powerful magnetic fields are used to trap the plasma of very hot gas, materials that can resist the extreme conditions caused by fusion, as well as control devices and plasma diagnostics, need to be developed. The projects underway in the field of fusion include: ITER, which aims to create a demo fusion reactor in France, and in which INFN is not involved; IFMIF (International Fusion Material Irradiation Facility) and DONES (DEMO Oriented NEutron Source), to which INFN makes an important technical and scientific contribution to creating a powerful deuterium nuclei accelerator; and the DTT project link, launched recently in Italy, which involves building a fusion plant in Frascati, for which INFN is contributing to the heating systems and plasma diagnostics.