Rosatom has established an industry integrator for additive manufacturing development

Rosatom State Corporation has established the new specialized company Rusatom - Additive Technologies (RusAT LLC) based on the TVEL Fuel Company. Its mission is to become a single industry integrator for the development of a new business - additive manufacturing (3D-printing).

The new company, which management began work in February 2018, will focus on four key areas: the production of a line of 3D-printers and their components, the creation of materials and metal powders for 3D-printing, the development of software suite for additive systems, as well as outsourcing on 3D printing services and the introduction of additive manufacturing in production (including the organization of production centers).

Production facilities for the production of equipment and materials are located at various enterprises of the Rosatom State Corporation, mainly at the factories of the TVEL Fuel Company in the city of Novouralsk, Sverdlovsk Region – NPO “Centrotech” and Ural Electrochemical Plant. Moreover, there are additional areas on the Novouralsk site to create new production facilities in the future.

RusAT as an industry integrator will coordinate R&D of products, as well as provide a portfolio of orders and contracting. The strategic goal of the company is to provide revenues of up to 50 billion rubles by 2025 and occupy a share of more than 1.5% in the global AM market.

At this point, Rosatom has developed a prototype of a second-generation industrial 3D-printer. By the end of the year, it is planned to begin its mass production in Novouralsk. The cost of a domestic printer will be 20% lower than its foreign counterparts, and its characteristics will be higher.

Additive manufacturing have several advantages. First of all, this is a complex form of products that cannot be achieved by machining or casting, unique combinations of materials (for example, metal and ceramics), a significant reduction in the mass of the product and the swift prototype production. At the same time, products made with AM technology can be used in various fields, from nuclear and space technologies to medicine.