The Association Agreement between Ukraine and Euratom was signed on 27 June 2016 and entered into force on 28 October 2016. Better integration of Ukrainian nuclear research entities into European nuclear research networks could be seen as mutually beneficial for the whole Euratom research community. “UA NCP for deeper integration of Ukrainian researchers to Euratom” project (Acronym: UAinEuratom) is initiated in order to provide deeper integration and improved participation of Ukrainian researchers and research entities in Euratom research activities with future aim to increase their participation in Euratom projects, thereby enabling a more broad and effective cooperation in the field of research on fission and fusion, and fully exploiting the potential of Ukrainian research entities regarding their infrastructures, capacities and research programmes. NSC KIPT was officially appointed by the Ukrainian authorities as National Contact Point to Euratom in 2017. UAinEuratom is an 18 months project that is initiated as support and coordination action for the NCP to Euratom in Ukraine (UA Euratom NCP) to integrate Ukrainian researchers and research centers to Euratom. UAinEuratom project specific objectives UAinEuratom project has the following specific objectives: • Strengthening of UA scientists participation to Euratom programmes; • Enhancing of Ukrainian - EU networking activities in Euratom research area; • Raising of Euratom programme awareness among representatives of Ukrainian research centers, SMEs, authorities and strengthening the link between Euratom and Ukrainian science communities; There are four work packages that include all project activities to achieve the objectives. All work packages will be managed and implemented by KIPT (Ukraine). • WP1. UA Euratom NCP skills and services improvement, • WP2. Enhancing of UA-EU networking activities in Euratom research area, • WP3. Communication and dissemination, • WP4. Project management.

UAinEuratom21 is 24 months project is addressed to support activities of the Ukrainian ‘National Contact Point to Euratom’ (UA Euratom NCP) and aimed to contribute to better integration of Ukrainian research entities (researchers) into European nuclear research networks. UAinEuratom21 project has the following specific objectives: • Strengthening the integration of Ukrainian stakeholders in pan-European initiatives and research relevant to all research areas covered by the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2021-2025, • Enhancing of UA Euratom NCP competence, • Euratom programme awareness raising among Ukrainian stakeholders. The UAinEuratom21 project audience is divided into several target groups: • Direct target groups: UA research community, EU research community, UA coordination and support bodies, EU coordination and support bodies, • Indirect target group: the general public. There are four work packages that are planned for project implementation. WP1 - STRENGTHENING OF NETWORKING ACTIVITIES BETWEEN UA AND EU RESEARCHERS; WP2 - UA EURATOM NCP COMPETENCE REINFORCEMENT; WP3 - DISSEMINATION, EXPLOITATION AND COMMUNICATION; WP4 - PROJECT MANAGEMENT. All activities of the UAinEuratom21 project are implemented by the National science center Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology that has been officially appointed by the Ukrainian authorities as UA Euratom NCP since 2017.

Nuclear fusion could provide humankind with an unlimited supply of clean, safe and sustainable energy, which would mean forgetting about the dire effects of fossil fuels. However, after almost a century of billion-dollar investments in nuclear fusion research, continuous fusion reactions have not been achieved yet due to the extremely challenging scientific and technical barriers that must be overcome. The performance of a fusion power plant is fundamentally dependent on the quality of confinement. For the confinement to be effective, it must satisfy two crucial criteria: 1) Stability and 2) The ability to maintain plasma over time with negligible leakage. Building upon the revolutionary mirror fusion concept by Novatron, which inherently stabilizes the plasma, the Tau-E Breakthrough project (TauEB) is designed to provide essential plasma plugs. These plugs are crucial for confining the plasma over an extended period, making it scalable to a fusion reactor that generates energy at a competitive Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE). This radically new design will make it possible to bring nuclear fusion technology to the commercial stage in record time, thus changing our lives not only by creating a multi-billion euro market, but above all by providing great social, environmental, economic and geopolitical benefits. To successfully achieve the project’s goals and maximise the impact of its results, we have brought together a multidisciplinary consortium combining the deep knowledge of KTH, KIPT and UKAEA in different complementary fields of nuclear fusion research (magnetic confinement, plasma stability, advanced simulation methods, radio frequency plasma heating, ponderomotive plugging and diagnostics), NFG’s revolutionary Novatron concept and its outstanding technological implementation skills (system design, mechanical design, instrumentation and plasma diagnostics), and IE’s outstanding innovation and exploitation management advice.

The NURECAB is 24 months CSA project related to the implementation of Euratom Work Programme 2023-2025 and focused on Education, training, capacity building and networking actions to strengthen Ukrainian and EU nuclear research. The NURECAB ambition is to support further integration of UA nuclear research community into European research networking and Euratom Research and Training Programme with paying attention to improvement of Ukrainian education and training academic framework for human capacity building and ensuring safe operation of Ukrainian nuclear installations and inclusive collaboration in fission and fusion. There are 6 specific objectives of the project: - Quality improvement of nuclear education and training programme in Ukraine, - Reducing the gap between nuclear educational and training programme of Ukraine and nuclear sector needs, - Attracting young people to nuclear research and engineering, - Strengthening cooperation between UA and EU research entities and academia to improve the participation of their researchers in Euratom Research and Training Programme, - Enhancing UA Euratom NCP competences and communication tools, - Raising awareness about Euratom programme among Ukrainian stakeholders. The NURECAB project is divided on 6 Work Packages: WP1 - NUCLEAR EDUCATION ENHANCEMENT: IDENTIFYING GAPS AND STRENGTHENING PATHWAYS, WP2 - STAFF TRAINING FOR UA EURATOM STAKEHOLDERS, WP3 - STRENGTHENING NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, WP4 - CAPACITY BUILDING OF YOUTH, WP5 - COMMUNICATION, DISSEMINATION AND EXPLOITATION, WP6 - PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION. The NURECAB consortium is represented by 9 organization which are 5 Ukrainian nuclear education Universities, Ukrainian NPPs operator, Ukrainian nuclear society, the largest Ukrainian research center in the nuclear field that is a host of Euratom National Contact Point and European nuclear education network from Belgium.

The overall aim of the project is to create greater security of energy supply and contribute to the security of supply of nuclear fuel for Russian designed pressurized water reactors (VVER) operating in the EU by diversification of fuel sources in the short / medium term and in full compliance with nuclear safety standards. By that, the project addresses the topic NFRP 16 – 2015. The scientific objectives of the proposed project include increased knowledge concerning the behaviour of the VVER-440 fuel during operation. State-of-the-art methods will be verified against an extensive database, including operating experience from several VVER-440 reactors as well as a number of other reactor designs and a wide range of operating conditions. The ability to accurately predict the fuel behaviour will be improved and thereby also the safety margins. New knowledge as well as identification of needs of technology development and improvements will be created in the fields of technologies for mechanical design, thermo-mechanical fuel rod design, and safety analysis for VVER fuel. In addition to the technological advances, the project will identify the variation in licensing requirements between the authorities in the different countries. Through such identification, it will become clear that standardization would be beneficial and will foster a dialogue between the authorities/regulatory bodies. The new knowledge will be exploited through innovation processes but will also be used for further research and recommendation to policy makers as well as for creating impact among the target groups of the project. Results will be presented to the members of the VVER community, i.e. the utilities, universities and other organizations with close links to the nuclear energy industry. Articles and papers presenting the work and the results of the project will be targeted for nuclear industry, magazines and conferences.