A cooperation agreement has been signed between the Centre for Energy Research and the Moroccan Centre National de l’Energie, des Sciences et des Techniques Nucléaires

On 19 January 2021, the Centre for Energy Research and the Moroccan Centre National de l’Energie, des Sciences et des Techniques Nucléaires (CNESTEN) signed a cooperation agreement. The event took place on-line due to the pandemic. The parties agreed to utilize the research reactor in Budapest, to cooperate on several research topics and to help make better use of the research reactor in Morocco. The cooperation also covers the industrial, agricultural, medical and other fields, …

An international panel of experts has approved the next design phase of the first fusion power plant with a Hungarian nuclear expert member

An independent panel of experts reviewed the R&D and design work of EUROfusion, the European fusion research organization, at DEMO, the future demonstration fusion power plant, from 19 to 25 November 2020. The Hungarian member of the 5-member international body is Prof. Dr. Attila Aszódi, professor of the Institute of Nuclear Techniques of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. The head of the board was the former director general of CERN and its members …

The Zirconium cladding of new Paks Nuclear Power Plant fuel elements will be examined at the Centre for Energy Research

At the end of 2020, the operation with new lead test fuel assemblies optimized for the water-uranium ratio will be started at the Paks Nuclear Power Plant. The new fuel elements have a thinner cladding than the current one and the traditional hollow uranium dioxide pellets used so far will be replaced by solid pellets. In parallel with the delivery of the new lead test assemblies, a shipment of new cladding tubes arrived from the …

First report on a brand new wide bandgap semiconductor, 2D indium nitride scientific paper of researchers from EK MFA (Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, Centre for Energy Research) in journal Advanced Materials

The wide bandgap semiconductors with direct bandgap can emit light as most people learned when Nobel prize was awarded for the LEDs in 2014. The researchers already had worked for about two decades on those materials like GaN, AlN and InN. The latter one, (indium nitride) was a little bit peculiar among them with its forbidden bandgap of 0.7 eV, i.e. not very wide. However, the above three materials can be grown easily in a …

One of the key technologies for the first power plant-sized fusion reactor to be tested at the Centre for Energy Research

Hungarian researchers and companies will develop a machine protection system for the international fusion project ITER. The Shattered Pellet Injector is designed to quickly quench the fusion reaction before it can damage the inner walls. The project was made possible through a 2.4 million euro tender won by the Fusion Plasma Physics Department of the Centre for Energy Research, Eötvös Loránd Research Network together with several Hungarian companies. The terrestrial realization of the energy production …

Nuclear element analysis for the cost-optimization of npp decommissioning: assessment of raw materials to be used in nuclear-grade concretes

Concrete is a widely used building material that is a mixture of natural raw materials and – to a smaller extent – artificial additives. The raw materials and the mixing ratios determine the structural properties of the concrete, e.g. compressive strength, density, and aging properties. These properties are quantified via physical and chemical material testing methods. Scientists of the Nuclear Analytical and Radiography Department (NAL) at the Energy and Environmental Safety Institute of the Centre …

The Óbuda University and the Centre for Energy Research have renewed their previous cooperation agreement

The Óbuda University and the Centre for Energy Research have renewed their previous cooperation agreement. The parties will make joint efforts in a number of areas in research and education, and help each other regarding graduate and doctoral training. After signing the cooperation agreement, the delegation of the Óbuda University visited the Budapest Research Reactor and the instruments operated by the Budapest Neutron Centre. Director General Dr. Ákos Horváth and Rector Dr. Levente Kovács agreed …

Lab-on-a Chip technology for the birth of children

The project titled „Application of chip-technology for improvement efficiency of human in-vitro fertilisation” (GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00021) and leaded by University of Pécs (PTE) was finished officially. The main goal of the project was to increase the success rate of artificial insemination (in vitro fertilisation) by the initiation of a novel analytical diagnostic solution. The most prosperous embryo is selected by microscopic analysis until the birth of the first „test-tube baby”. The medical science has been aiming at …

MAST Upgrade starts up its first plasma

A flash of purple plasma followed by applause echoing over a video connection: on 29th October, the UK’s new fusion device MAST Upgrade officially commenced operation. EUROfusion asked experts from around Europe about their involvement in this new fusion experiment. A cored apple is the favorite image that the British fusion researchers at UKAEA love to conjure for their main experiment MAST Upgrade. At 50 to 100 million degrees Celsius for even the initial experiments, it has to …

New oxidation furnace to strengthen the MEMS development in the Centre for Energy Research

A new oxidation furnace has been put in operation in the MEMS Laboratory of the Centre for Energy Research, a member of the Eötvös Loránd Research Network. Financed by the European Union, the investment is a major step in the upgrade of the existing Si processing line, thereby facilitating both the R&D activities and higher education training in the field of sensor development and related material research. The four tube system is set for dry …