In the past year, the Russian nuclear industry demonstrated several key trends. This is, first, a new approach to the Generation IV technology extending beyond individual reactors into holistic systems that minimize consumption of resources and maximize power production and economic effects. Second, this is a real, not formal, increase in nuclear capacity both in Russia and worldwide. Third, these are new technologies and research that lay the groundwork for tomorrow. Here is our review of 2024.
Generation IV systems
“Rosatom’s strategy provides for the transition to the closed nuclear fuel cycle with a broad deployment of fast neutron reactor technologies,” Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said at the Atomexpo 2024 international forum held in April last year. The transition is a multistage and multidimensional process, so Rosatom is simultaneously working across many areas.
First, Rosatom is building in Seversk, Russia, an experimental power production facility (abbreviated ODEK in Russian) that comprises a lead-cooled fast neutron reactor BREST-OD‑300, a spent fuel reprocessing unit, and a fuel fabrication/refabrication unit (FFRU). In April 2024, a carbothermal synthesis line was test-launched at the FFRU, followed by putting the unit into pilot operation in December. The last section of the RPV containment structure was installed in the reactor pit while the turbine condenser was being assembled. Installation of the core power equipment will start in 2025.
ODEK is intended to demonstrate how the closed nuclear fuel cycle may function in practice. This will involve extracting uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel (reprocessing) and turning them into fresh fuel for the reactor located at the same site.
Multiple recycling and inclusion of depleted uranium (left after enrichment) in the nuclear fuel cycle makes it possible to maximize the use of energy contained in each kilogram of natural uranium, minimize mining and processing costs, and reduce dependence on natural reserves.
Second, Rosatom’s Beloyarsk Unit 4 with a sodium-cooled fast-neutron reactor BN‑800 continues to operate entirely on mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel. In July 2024, the reactor reached 100 % power after the last refueling.
Third, Rosatom went ahead with managing minor actinides. The first three fuel assemblies containing these highly toxic elements were loaded into the BN‑800 reactor during the said refueling operation. The assemblies will be irradiated for about a year and a half. The goal is to obtain experimental evidence that minor actinides can be transmuted in fast neutron reactors. Transmutation will make nuclear waste less radioactive and reduce its isolation time by 2,300 times (from 700,000 to 300 years). This is done to eliminate the need for deep geological repositories. It should be recalled that radioactive waste is becoming stabler and safer over time — the key point is when this will happen. Thus, the closed nuclear fuel cycle relieves nuclear power of its, strictly speaking, only disadvantage that has not yet been overcome — the accumulation of radioactive waste.
Finally, Rosatom is developing a new fuel composition aimed at closing the nuclear fuel cycle. For more details, see the article ‘Fuel Evolution’ in this issue.
Nuclear plants for reliable energy supply
In Russia, Rosatom is building new power units to achieve a 25 % share of nuclear generation in the country’s energy mix by 2045. Two power units with VVER-TOI reactors (VVER-TOI stands literally for ‘water-cooled water-moderated energy reactor universal optimized digital’) are being built at the Kursk NPP. Kursk II Unit 1 has hit the homestretch and is being prepared for going critical. Unit 2 is under construction. In March, the first concrete was poured for the foundation of Unit 7 at the Leningrad NPP. Preparations for the first concrete pouring (scheduled for 2027) are underway at the Smolensk NPP. Design of medium-capacity VVER reactors for the Kola NPP is in the final phase. The updated Power Plant Location Plan 2042 provides for the construction of new reactors in Russia’s Far Eastern regions, Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai.
Rosatom remains the leader in international nuclear projects. The Russian nuclear corporation accounts for the construction of 22 reactors in seven countries, or more than 90 % of nuclear power projects. In January, the first concrete was poured for Unit 4 of Egypt’s El Dabaa NPP. Since then, all four units of the plant have been simultaneously under construction. A molten core catcher was installed at El Dabaa Unit 3 in October, followed by another one at Unit 4 in November.
In September, a reactor pressure vessel was installed at Unit 8 of the Tianwan NPP in China; a training simulator for Units 7 and 8 was put into operation in October; welding operations on the primary coolant pipeline were completed at Unit 7 in November.
In December, a reactor pressure vessel was installed at Unit 4 of China’s Xudabao NPP.
Construction of the first unit was finished at the two-unit Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh in December. Tests on the primary coolant pumps will be followed by cold tests (tests without fuel) on the reactor plant to check whether the equipment complies with nominal design parameters. After the full set of tests is completed, the unit will be ready for criticality.
Also in December, the turbine installation was completed at Unit 1 of the Akkuyu NPP in Turkey; the turbine shaft was set in motion at low speed. Preparations are underway for pre-commissioning tests, which will involve the loading of dummy fuel assemblies.
Thus, the first two units with VVER‑1200 reactors at Akkuyu and Rooppur are about to go critical.
Rosatom is also a leader in small modular reactor (SMR) projects. In May 2024, Rosatom and Uzbekistan signed the first ever export contract to build an SMR nuclear power plant. It provides for the construction of six 55 MWe power units with RITM‑200 reactor in the Jizzakh region of Uzbekistan. The first unit is scheduled to go critical in late 2029.
In June 2024, the Mechanical Engineering Division of the Russian nuclear corporation signed a memorandum of intent with the Republic of Guinea. The parties will join forces on a project to build floating power units to supply electricity to the country.
This is how Rosatom is in practice contributing to the growth of carbon-free nuclear capacity worldwide.
New technologies
Rosatom is endeavoring to go beyond conventional domains into fully innovative energy technologies. Russia is an initiator and major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, with Rosatom performing the most important tasks for the project.
One of such tasks approved in 2024 is the replacement of beryllium with tungsten as a material of the tokamak’s first wall. The decision was made due to the nuances of the French regulatory framework. Earlier, Russian researchers produced and tested an individual segment of the beryllium wall, and now they are preparing to make a tungsten wall. The ITER Organization and Russia have signed a research contract to develop a technology for boron carbide coating, which will make the tokamak operation more efficient.
In addition, more gyrotrons (80 to 87 instead of 24) will be needed since tungsten impurities reduce the plasma temperature. It is highly likely that these devices will be manufactured in Russia due to its leadership in this technology.
In 2024, Rosatom continued construction of new wind farms in Russia. In March, the second phase (35 MW) of the Trunovskaya Wind Farm was commissioned in Russia’s Stavropol Krai. The total capacity of the wind farm is now 95 MW. In total, Rosatom has built over 1 GW of wind power capacity in Russia. In November, construction of the Novolakskaya Wind Farm, the largest in Russia (300 MW), began in Dagestan. Rosatom’s expansion into the international wind energy markets started with a 100 MW wind farm in Kyrgyzstan. Importantly, the primary wind turbine components, including nacelles and blades, are also manufactured in Russia at the production facilities of the Russian nuclear corporation.
In the past year, Rosatom also advanced in the development of non-energy nuclear technologies. For example, October saw an irradiation center opened in Bolivia at the site of the Nuclear Research and Technology Center. Installation of a research reactor pressure vessel also started last year. In the same month, the initial batch of nuclear fuel for this reactor passed factory acceptance tests at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (part of Rosatom’s Fuel Division) in Russia.
In November, Rosatom and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Ethiopia signed a contract to conduct a feasibility study for a nuclear research and technology center that might be built in the country.
Broader international cooperation
New international contracts and partnerships across a variety of fields are the testament to the highest quality and best performance of Rosatom’s products. In 2024, the Russian nuclear corporation and the Republic of Belarus, the first to have VVER‑1200 reactors built outside Russia, signed a Comprehensive Cooperation Program for Nuclear Non-Energy and Non-Nuclear Projects.
China, Rosatom’s long-standing partner in the field of nuclear energy, is considering the development of freight traffic on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in partnership with Rosatom. In June, the nuclear corporation and China’s NewNew Shipping Line signed an agreement of intent to establish a joint venture to build ships and organize a year-round NSR-based container line between Russian and Chinese ports. The first meeting of the NSR Sub-commission took place in November. China was represented by the Ministry of Transportation, and Russia by Rosatom. The parties intend to promote freight traffic, ensure navigation safety, and improve infrastructure. In 2024, Chinese shipping companies increased the number of voyages along the Northern Sea Route from 8 to 13.
Finally, an example of appreciation of Rosatom’s efforts is the support demonstrated by the nuclear companies from Brazil, China, South Africa, Iran, Ethiopia, and Bolivia for Rosatom’s initiative to establish a joint Nuclear Energy Platform.
