Institute of Chemical Physics of the University Latvia implementing the Baltic-German University Liaison Office project

This project of the Baltic-German University Liaison Office is supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic Germany. The project is developed by the scientists from the Institute of Chemical Physics in cooperation with scientists and students from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany), the Institute of Physics of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Tartu (Estonia), and the Institute of Material Science of the Kaunas University of Technology (Lithuania). Project development aims at improving the functional materials for the future “clean” energy sources for the fusion reactors. The international fusion research and engineering project ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is currently one of the most current "clean" energy scientific projects of the global importance. The main aim for the member countries participating in this project – The European Union, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States, is to test functional and structural elements of the fusion reactor in order to realize transition from the experimental plasma physics studies to the full-scale industrial electricity-producing fusion power plants. For development of an efficient fusion fuel cycle, lithium containing compounds are required for the generation of the fusion fuel – tritium. Scientists of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology are currently working on improving the properties of the lithium containing ceramic pebbles and increasing their production process efficiency. One of the possible solutions is to use ceramic pebbles with two phases – the lithium orthosilicate and the metatitanate. Within the framework of this project, the tritium breeding properties of this new type of ceramic are studied. The main aim of the project is to estimate the influence of the lithium metatitanate additions on the radiation stability of the modified lithium orthosilicate pebbles by analysing formation and accumulation of the radiation-induced defects and radiolysis products. Based on the obtained results, recommendations for the development of the improved tritium breeding ceramics will be prepared. Within the framework of this project, several workshops will be organized with an aim to facilitate the long-term cooperation, exchange of knowledge and strengthening of the relationship between students of the University of Latvia and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The first scientific results obtained within the scope of this project have already been presented in the Faculty of Chemistry at the 73^rd annual conference of the University of Latvia and at the 31^st annual conference of the Institute of Solid State Physics of the University of Latvia. It is also planned to report on the obtained results at the conference "Functional materials and nanotechnology 2015" (Vilnius, Lithuania) as well as at the “29^th Symposium on Fusion Technology” (SOFT-29, Prague, Czech Republic).