Rosatom plans to increase the share of nuclear generation in the Russian Federation through the construction in Siberia and the Urals of two energy complexes with high-power fast neutron reactors. According to Director General Alexey Likhachev, Rosatom also wants to increase nuclear generation in the Far East.
Likhachev was speaking at the Atom pavilion at the All-Russia Exhibition Centre (VDNKh) in Moscow.
By 2035, Russia plans to build 17 power units, “not only VVER-1200s, but also medium and low power units, as well as industrial fast neutron reactors”, he said. The aims is to increase the share of nuclear generation in the overall energy balance from 20% to 25% by the 2040s.
“We plan to increase nuclear generation in the Urals and go further to Siberia and the Far East, where the greatest growth in consumption is predicted,” Likhachev said. “In the Urals we propose to build two industrial and energy complexes with high-power fast neutron reactors to close the nuclear fuel cycle. This will be a scaled up version of the Brest-300 reactor technology…. We want to build two more similar industrial energy complexes in Siberia.”
The Brest-OD-300 lead-cooled fast reactor under construction at the Siberian Chemical Plant (SCC, part of Rosatom’s Fuel Company TVEL) in Seversk is part of the pilot demonstration power complex (ODEK). SCC has been implementing ODEK since 2011 as part of the Breakthrough (Proryv) project intended to demonstrate closed fuel cycle technology. As well as the reactor ODEK will also include modules for fuel fabrication and for reprocessing and recycling irradiated fuel.
Likhachev said, in the Far East, it is planned to build two large units with VVER-1200 reactors and two medium ones with VVER-600 reactors. Rosatom also sees great potential for the development of small-scale nuclear generation, both floating and land-based.
Image: Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev
