Professor Nikolay Kopylov, VNIIPO of the EMERCOM of Russia: "Modern REM technologies require a revision of classical approaches to fire safety"

When it comes to creating high-tech industries in the field of rare and rare earth metals (RM and REM), usually talk about raw materials, technologies, personnel and investments. But there is another, not the most noticeable, but vital component – security. Working with aggressive environments requires a special culture, strict standards and deep engineering study. On the eve of the Day of Fire Protection, which is celebrated on April 30, we managed to talk with Nikolai Petrovich Kopylov, Chief Researcher at the Federal State Budgetary Institution "All-Russian Research Institute for Fire Protection of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters" of the EMERCOM of Russia, Professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences. At the upcoming RAREMET-2026 Congress, Nikolai Petrovich will moderate an expert session on the issues of fire and explosion safety of technological processes with RM and REM. The interview talks about non–obvious risks, a dialogue between technologists and engineers about safety, and why a reliable "fire shield" is not an obstacle, but the foundation for a technological breakthrough.

— Nikolay Petrovich, within the framework of the RAREMET‑2026 Congress, you are the moderator of an expert session on the fire and explosion safety of technological processes with rare and rare earth metals. Why is this topic becoming critically important today?

— The development of modern industries and services stimulates the creation of new technologies, especially in the field of creating new energy sources, control systems and robotics. The element base of all the above is focused on the use of rare and rare earth metals. The production of these elements and products containing them must be fire and explosion-safe.

— Technologies for obtaining RM and REM are often associated with the use of finely dispersed powders, pyrophoric materials, and aggressive environment. What specific risks are most often underestimated by designers and technologists during the transition from laboratory development to industrial scale?

— You yourself answered the question. The transition from laboratory development to industrial production requires a clear physical and mathematical modeling of full-size technologies and the determination of scaling factors.

— The annotation of the session mentions the need to take into account the requirements of Federal law‑123 "The technical regulation about requirements of fire safety". To what extent does the existing regulatory framework correspond to new, including "green" technologies for processing rare metal raw materials? Does it need to be finalized?

—Federal law‑123 "The technical regulation about requirements of fire safety" is the universal and defines requirements for all types of production, including rare earth technologies, but at the same time the specifics of this industry, primarily the environmental impact on the biosphere, safety issues for personnel, requires improvement of the regulatory framework. And in terms of ensuring fire safety, to take into account the specifics of production, if necessary, the Federal Law provides for different tools, including the development of special technical conditions.

— Today, the industry is actively implementing digital twins, artificial intelligence, and automated control systems. Can these tools help in predicting and preventing fire and explosion situations in RM and REM industries? If so, how?

— The direction of introducing automation and artificial intelligence into all spheres of human activity has directly affected the response to fire and explosion-safe situations that develop in modern industries. The production of RM and REM is no exception here.

— The expert session will bring together fire safety specialists, technologists, designers and business representatives. How can we build an effective dialogue between these groups so that security requirements do not slow down the innovations, but, on the contrary, are laid in the technology at the earliest stages?

— First of all, it is necessary to identify the most vulnerable and poorly developed points points that hinder innovations in the form of an informal dialogue and develop algorithms for this implementation.

— What, in your opinion, are the main practical results that should be achieved at the session? What will participants of the Congress be able to take with them for their productions?

— I think it will be possible to analyze the state of the industry in ensuring the fire and explosion safety of RM and REM production technology and identify ways to solve the most "bottlenecks".

— And the final question. What would you wish the participants and guests of the RAREMET-2026 Congress ‑ scientists, engineers, business representatives and government authorities – on the eve of this large–scale event?

— The answer here is very simple: consolidate the efforts of all the participants and focus them on achieving a significant result for the country: a safe increase in the production of rare earth metals.

— At the end of our conversation, I would like to congratulate you, dear Nikolai Petrovich, and your colleagues on the Day of the Fire Protection of Russia, and wish you good health and success in the hard work of ensuring fire safety! May your meaningful work and the introduction of advanced fire safety technologies serve for the benefit of our country!

The International Congress on Rare Metals, Materials and Technologies "RAREMET‑2026" will be held in Moscow from May 20 to 22, 2026 at the RTU MIREA. The program includes plenary sessions, four thematic scientific conferences (RAREMET:Minerals, RAREMET:Metallurgy, RAREMET:Chemistry, RAREMET:Functional), panel discussions, round tables, as well as the specialized exhibition RAREMET:Expo. For the first time, the Congress will host an expert session on fire and explosion safety of technological processes with rare and rare earth metals. We invite technologists, designers, occupational safety and industrial safety specialists, as well as all those involved in the creation and modernization of rare metal industries, to take an active part in the discussion.