News
04.12.2023
Turkey. In November, Istanbul hosted the 17th International Congress and Expo Energy Is Future (EIF) 2023, with Rosatom as the main partner of the event. For the first time at EIF, the Russian nuclear corporation presented its multi-disciplinary offering that spans across nuclear power technology and new business areas, from renewable energy to composite materials. Also in late November, Rosatom shipped two horizontal moisture separator reheaters (MSRs) for the first unit of Turkey’s Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. Four MSRs used to be installed at each turbine, but the new design needs only two. Russian power engineering companies managed to reduce by about half the amount of steel consumed per MSR, while having improved performance, reliability and cost-efficiency of the entire turbine plant.
Fast reactors. The first-ever IAEA OSART mission to the BN-800 fast reactor unit was completed at the Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant in Russia. An international team of experts from the UK, France, Iran, Armenia, Belarus, Slovakia and China visited the Beloyarsk site at the request of the Russian government. They spent three weeks reviewing operational safety, reliability and personnel performance at the nuclear power plant. “Following our mission, we are safe to say that Beloyarsk is very close to the ideal vision of the safest power plant because its staff is dedicated, knowledgeable and professional,” OSART team leader Simon Morgan said in conclusion. The Beloyarsk NPP operates two fast neutron reactors, BN-600 and BN-800, which are the world’s most powerful reactors of this type.
SMRs. In November, Rosatom and Norilsk Nickel signed an agreement of intent and cooperation on the construction of small modular reactors to supply power to the Norilsk Industrial Region (NIR). The companies will consider possible options, select the site and plant configuration, and define the necessary infrastructure. “A high-tech plant design based on the latest RITM-400 reactor unit may be taken as a priority,” said Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev. The NIR power system is isolated from the Russian national grid and operated by Norilsk Nickel’s subsidiary NTEC. With its strategic development plans, the Russian mining major is considering the possibility of building new generating capacity. Rosatom has a successful case of operating a floating nuclear power plant in a similar isolated power grid of the Chaun-Bilibino Industrial Area.
