Italy’s Ansaldo Energia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Uzbekistan’s Atomic Energy (Uzatom) aimed at exploring collaboration in advanced nuclear technologies and the development of small modular reactors (SMRs). Ansaldo Energia and Uzatom will pursue strategic cooperation in areas such as the design and construction of next-generation nuclear power plants, nuclear waste management solutions, and professional training programmes with particular emphasis on SMRs.
The MOU was signed by Ansaldo Energia Senior Vice President for Public Affairs & Institutional Relations Andrea Benveduti and Uzatom Director Azim Akhmedkhadjaev. Attending the signing ceremony were Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Piergabriele Papadia de Bottini, Ambassador of Italy to Uzbekistan.
Ansaldo said the partnership includes joint professional development initiatives to strengthen technical expertise in nuclear energy, noting that the collaboration reinforces Italy’s strategic partnership with Uzbekistan, promoting economic growth and technological innovation in both countries.
However, work is already underway on a construction and installation base for a low-powered NPP (ASMM – Atomnoi Stantsii Maloi Moshnosti) with RITM-200N water-cooled reactors based on nuclear powered icebreaker technology. The initial contract, signed in May 2024 during the visit to Uzbekistan of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was for the construction of a 330 MWe low powered in the Jizzakh region of Uzbekistan. It will comprise six units with RITM-200N 55 MWe (190 MWt) reactors with a service life of 60 years. The first unit is scheduled to begin operation in late 2029, with the other units commissioned consecutively.
In May, AEM-Spetstal Metallurgical Plant (part of Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division) cast the first steel, which will be used to manufacture the flange of the first the RITM-200N reactor vessel. Uzatom, and Rosatom have also launched a joint engineering school aimed at training highly skilled personnel for Uzbekistan’s nuclear energy sector. The initiative was formalised through a trilateral agreement signed by Uzatom, Rosatom, and the Russia’s National Research Nuclear University (NRNU) MEPhI [Moscow Engineering & Physics Institute].
