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    • 18.11.2024
    Turkey. Workers finished concreting the outer containment dome on the reactor building of Akkuyu Unit 1. This operation was divided into four stages and took more than a hundred days. “The outer containment shell is an essential safety element of the reactor unit. Its reinforced concrete structure will safely protect the reactor from external impacts. With the shell concreting completed, we can now proceed with installing another critical safety component, a passive heat removal system,” Akkuyu Nuclear CEO Sergey Butskikh commented. Rosatom is building a four-unit nuclear power plant with VVER-1200 reactors in Turkey. All the four power units are now simultaneously under construction.
    China. Rosatom took part in one of China’s largest exhibitions, China International Import Expo. The exhibition booth of the Russian nuclear corporation featured an interactive City of the Future model that demonstrated Russian-designed technology for large- and small-scale nuclear generation and for closing the nuclear fuel cycle. It also presented solutions from Rosatom’s new businesses, including those for wind power, nuclear medicine, and logistics. A special section of the booth was dedicated to the multi-year history of Russia-China cooperation in nuclear power and other areas. Rosatom is currently involved in the construction of two Chinese nuclear power plants, Tianwan (Units 1-4 already in operation; Units 7 and 8 under construction) and Xudabao (Units 3 and 4 under construction).
    Serbia. International students of Rosatom’s backbone universities gave lectures in the Serbian capital Belgrade on the prospects of nuclear technology development, and opportunities for obtaining degrees in nuclear technology and related fields in Russia. In total, the lectures were attended by more than 250 people. In addition to universities, the ambassadors of nuclear education in Russia visited the Russian Embassy School and Belgrade’s leading high schools specializing in mathematics. They talked to the students about the history of civil nuclear technology and advanced nuclear solutions. “Today, young people have become drivers of joint academic initiatives and reliable promoters of international cooperation,” said Vladimir Popovic, Dean of the Mechanical Engineering Faculty of the University of Belgrade.
    11.11.2024
    Icebreakers. The fourth Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreaker, Chukotka, was floated out at the Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg. The icebreaker will be fitted out while moored at the berth. The vessel is scheduled for commissioning in 2026. “We need new icebreakers for the development of the Northern Sea Route and the entire Russian Arctic. Cargo traffic on the route has grown almost 10 times over the past 10 years, and keeps setting new highs every year. This year sees the trend continue as the volume of cargo transported is up year over year. Freight transit is also growing due to cargoes being redirected from west to east,” Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said during the float-out ceremony. There are now seven nuclear-powered icebreakers operating in the Arctic. Three Project 22220 series icebreakers are under construction at the Baltic Shipyard in parallel, and another super icebreaker of the Leader series is being built at the Zvezda Shipyard. 
    Electric mobility. Rosatom launched two EV charging hubs in Kaliningrad. The two hubs have 15 electric charging stations with a total capacity of over 2 MW. The fast-charging stations are designed for simultaneous connection of up to three electric vehicles each and are capable of fully charging an electric car in 30 to 60 minutes. Rosatom has also signed a number of partnership agreements providing for the promotion of electric vehicles in the car sharing, taxi and passenger transportation segments in the Kaliningrad Region. Rosatom is building Russia’s first electric battery gigafactory in Kaliningrad. The Russian nuclear corporation and Avtotor Auto Holding, a local EV manufacturer, plan to set up the traction battery production right on the automobile plant premises. 
    Construction sites. A molten core catcher (melt trap) for Unit 4 was delivered to the construction site of Egypt’s El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant. The ship carrying the core catcher components left the Russian port of Novorossiysk in October to deliver them to Egypt ahead of schedule. “We installed melt traps at Units 1 and 2 in 2023, and at Unit 3 in 2024. If we manage to install the trap at Unit 4 this year, this will prove our process is resilient,” said Alexey Kononenko, Vice President of ASE and Director of El Dabaa Construction Project. Rosatom is simultaneously building four power units with VVER-1200 reactors in Egypt.
    05.11.2024
    Fuel. Rosatom has manufactured an initial load of nuclear fuel for the BRR-1 research reactor under construction in Bolivia. The first batch of fuel assemblies is scheduled to be delivered to the country in 2025. Bolivia’s first research reactor will be a centerpiece of the national Nuclear Research and Technology Center (NRTC), which Rosatom is building in El Alto at an altitude of 4,000 meters above sea level. The reactor pressure vessel was delivered from Russia and put in place in 2023. BRR-1 is a water-cooled water-moderated pool-type research reactor with a design service life of 50 years. Bolivia is the first South American country to receive Russian-made nuclear fuel. The NRTC includes a reactor for the fabrication of radioisotopes and neutron activation analysis, a pre-clinical cyclotron facility for the production of radiopharmaceuticals, a multi-purpose irradiation center for the treatment of agricultural products and sterilization of medical devices, and a radiobiology and radioecology laboratory.
    SMRs. Rosatom took part in the first IAEA International Conference on Small Modular Reactors and Their Applications held in Vienna. Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev spoke about the advantages of onshore and offshore small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power plants as sources of electricity for remote communities and isolated industrial sites, and touched upon small-scale generation solutions offered by Rosatom. The Russian nuclear corporation is currently working on the project to build an onshore SMR plant in Yakutia. In May 2024, Rosatom signed the first export contract for the construction of a Russian-designed SMR plant in Uzbekistan. Rosatom representatives also spoke about the experience in engineering onshore and offshore SMR nuclear power plants, and developing nuclear infrastructure based on different project delivery models. Additionally, Rosatom’s Technical Academy and the IAEA agreed on the margins of the conference to expand cooperation in knowledge management and human resource development.
    Uranium. Rosatom presented advanced energy solutions at a nuclear science and technology conference in Namibia. During the three-day event, multi-national representatives from government, business and industry discussed options to promote nuclear industry in Namibia and other African countries. The conference participants noted the importance of efficient uranium mining for the continent’s economic development. The management of Headspring Investments (Rosatom’s subsidiary operating a uranium project in Namibia) spoke about using the in-situ leaching process in uranium mining. “Nuclear can lay a solid foundation for a sustainable energy industry in African countries. Rosatom has developed a wide range of solutions to achieve this goal. Large and small nuclear power plants can be reliable sources of power,” commented Ryan Collier, CEO at Rosatom Central and Southern Africa.