The primary event of 2014 in the branch took place on December, 27th: the third power unit of Rostov NPP started to generate current for the electric power system of Russia. The unit was started up ahead of schedule. “We have received the task to complete this work two months earlier, — says Valery Limarenko, president of engineering-procurement-construction company NIAEP-Atomstroyexport. — This will allow us receiving higher gain — about one million dollars per day”.
Alexey Zhukov, Rostov NPP chief engineer, said that it was more difficult for him to start up the third unit than the two previous ones. “The deadlines were tight. You realize that you are responsible for everything,” — he explained. But the most challenging issues of Rostov nuclear experts are still ahead. “Especially hard work begins with dynamic tests, — Zhukov speaks. — It is necessary to shut down and start the unit, to set up all safety systems and so on.” The third unit is expected to be put in commercial operation this summer.
Construction at full speed
The fourth power unit with BN-800 fast neutron reactor has begun to “live” in the end of June at Beloyarsk NPP. Forthcoming power start-up with subsequent unit commissioning will allow Russia drawing away even more from its few competitors in the area of fast reactors. Results that improve the fuel assembly design were received at the physical start-up stage. Constructional elements are currently being optimized.
The technical project of advanced commercial fast neutron reactor BN-1200 already exists. It is necessary to make the decision on construction at least three BN-1200 reactors within the framework of Rosenergoatom strategy up to 2030.
Physical start-up of the first unit of Novovoronezh NPP-2 is expected this year, and physical start-up of the first unit of Leningrad NPP-2 is expected by the end of the year. Construction of Kursk NPP-2 is being deployed, construction of the floating NPP proceeds, Smolensk NPP-2 works will commence this year.
ROSATOM power division completed ahead of schedule the planned task of the Federal Grid Company (organization managing the unified all-Russian electric power grid). Nuclear units generated by the New Year’s Eve the record amount of electric power — 180.5 billion kW∙h.
Foreign portfolio
The ten years’ portfolio of foreign orders of the power division has reached 27.4 billion roubles by the end of 2014 at initially declared 9.57 billion roubles. Thus, the plan to increase foreign portfolio was exceeded almost three times.
Contract with China will be signed in February on Tianwan NPP service and prolongation of operation. Russia and China are currently negotiating on construction of the seventh and eighth units of the plant, as well as the fast neutron reactor. Floating NPPs became the new direction of Rosatom cooperation with China. The parties signed in the spring the memorandum of partnership in this area. China is interested to obtain not one but the whole series of such plants, and Russia is ready to construct them.
Documents on possible construction in Iran “on a turn-key basis” of eight new NPP units according to the Russian technology (four units at Bushehr NPP site and four units at another site), which were signed in November in Moscow, are justifiably the agreements of the year for Rosatom. The contract on construction in Bushehr of two new units was thus concluded.
Contracts were signed on completion of Paksi NPP in Hungary, as well as documents related to construction of Ruppur NPP in Bangladesh, the first NPP in Jordan, constructions of the second phase (third and fourth units) of Kundakulam NPP in India. Besides, Russia and India accepted the program of long-term cooperation in nuclear area; construction at Indian sites of 12 NPP units within 20 years is being discussed.
It is now possible to construct nuclear plants in Kazakhstan, the Republic of South Africa, Algeria, Brazil and Argentina with participation of Russia due to intergovernmental agreements signed during the past year.
Finally, intergovernmental cooperation agreement was signed with Armenia on prolongation of the term of operation of the second unit of Armenian NPP.
Fuel breakthroughs
TVEL fuel company of Rosatom achieved several great successes in 2014. Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (NCCP) manufactured the first fuel assemblies, which design allows increasing power of operating units of Russian NPPs. It is referred to modernized assemblies TVS-2M with the so-called mixing lattices, allowing the increased heat extraction from fuel elements (fuel rods). First such assemblies are already being tested at the fourth unit of Balakovo NPP.
The first fuel rods for the Russian leading universal nuclear ice breaker of new generation “Arktika” (which is under construction) were manufactured by the Machine Building Plant in Electrostal. This enterprise also assembled the first fuel rod for the nuclear space power propulsion installation of megawatt class.
Siberian Chemical Combine manufactured the first experimental fuel assembly ETVS-4 with nitride fuel, intended for BN-600 fast neutron reactor at the third unit of Beloyarsk NPP. This is an important step to creation of the closed fuel cycle with “fast” reactors.
SCC also manufactured the first experimental assembly ETVS-5 with nitride fuel for the nuclear project “Proryv” (“Breaktrhough”), which will be used to practice new nuclear technologies for the nuclear power generation industry. Such assemblies will be used in “Proryv” project in the fast neutron reactor BREST-OD-300.
November was marked by TVEL expand into the new foreign market of low enriched plate-type nuclear fuel for research reactors of western design. NCCP and Dutch NRG Petten signed the contract on delivery within the next years of such Russian fuel for HFR research reactor (Petten).
It is important that this year, despite the uneasy relations with Ukraine, all obligations were strictly fulfilled on providing nuclear fuel for the Ukrainian NPPs. No failure was admitted in its deliveries. And in the end of the year the contracting of nuclear fuel delivery for Ukraine for 2015 has successfully come to the end.
New way for Uranium
The volume of Uranium extraction by the Russian enterprises, which are the part of Rosatom Uranium holding Atompredmetzoloto remained in the past year at the level of year 2013 and has made about 3 thousand tons. 1970 tons of them are planned for Priargunsky Production Mining and Chemical Association, 578 tons — for Dalur, 442 tons — for Hiagda.
But there will be more Russian Uranium in the future. So, Priargunsky Production Mining and Chemical Association announced renewal in 2015 of Uranium extraction in two mines, which was temporarily discontinued earlier. And Hiagda declared the beginning of preparation for development of Istochny and Vershinny deposits of natural Uranium at Hiagdinsky ore field in Buryatiya. It is planned that this deposit will become the centre of Uranium extracting industry of Russia in the near future.
The present mineral raw material base of the Russian nuclear industry is sufficient to maintain uninterrupted delivery of Uranium for 60 years. Generally, Rosatom projects are provided with Uranium for the century ahead. Therefore, for example, the obviously politically-motivated decision of Australia meant for an external effect not to sell Uranium for Russia looked meaningless.
Time of innovations
Science and innovation unit of Rosatom also has a lot to be proud of. This year the complex of researches on application of especially pure radiation-hardened steels for a part of VVER-TOI reactor vessel was finished, allowing prolonging its “life” up to 80 years.
The expiring year was also noted by a serious achievement which will help the domestic nuclear medicine. The system with complete production cycle of radiopharmaceuticals for the positron-emission tomography was organized on the basis of the Scientific Research Institute of Technical Physics and Automation for the first time in Russia. It allows detecting at an early stage oncological, cardiac and nervous system diseases. The complex was built on the basis of the cyclotron manufactured by Saint Petersburg NIIEFA named after Yefremov. Further similar complexes can be scaled for other platforms of Russia and the neighbouring countries.
Russia accurately carries out its obligations in the international project on creation of thermonuclear reactor ITER. Only our country together with China maintain the operation schedule, while the European Union states are behind the schedule for almost three years. Works on strand manufacturing used to intertwine superconducting cables were finished in 2014 at Chepetsk mechanical plant; Russia delivers such cables to ITER project.
Space is not forgotten besides the practical affairs, since Rosatom is now present at a place no less than a comet. Radioactive source based on Curium-244 isotope, manufactured by Dimitrovgrad Scientific Research Institute of Nuclear Reactors (NIIAR), has helped the scientific module “Fila” in November to land for the first time in history on the surface of Churjumov-Gerasimenko comet nucleus, to collect data about of its soil constitution.
KONDOR scanner of road carpet, developed in NIITFA, has covered more than 18 thousand kilometers of the country. Demonstration measurements were performed in 30 cities, possibility to use X-ray densitometer to estimate the quality of road carpet was experimentally confirmed. Several regions became interested in the facility, the project is under development, the problem on facility registration in the Register of Measuring Equipment will be solved. According to results of the run the team of developers won the national award in the sphere of traffic safety — «Safety is at issue of everyone».
NIKIET created unique pipes for the control system of nuclear power propulsion installation of megawatt class. Hot-rolled tubes from molibdenum alloy TSM-7 are intended for working bodies of the control system and reactor shielding. NIKIET experts say that the new technology will allow manufacturing equipment for the transport power module reactor quickly and rather cheaply.
