In Seversk, Tomsk Region, at the isotope separation plant of the Siberian Chemical Combine (SKhK – Sibirskovo Khimicheskovo Kombinata), part of Rosatom’s Fuel Division TVEL), the first block of high-performance generation 9+ gas centrifuges has been put into commercial operation.
Technical re-equipment of the plant is being implemented as part of the modernisation of enrichment facilities of the Fuel Division with the gradual replacement of older gas centrifuges with modern high-performance machines. The commissioning of further blocks of new centrifuges at the separation plant in Seversk is planned for 2025-2027.
The SKhK separation plant is the third of four Rosatom enterprises engaged in uranium enrichment, where the new centrifuges are being introduced. In 2018, similar projects began at the Ural Electrochemical Plant in the Sverdlovsk Region (UEKhK – Uralskom ElektroKhimicheskom Konbinate) and at the Electrochemical Plant in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (EKhZ – ElektroKhimicheskom Zavode). The modernisation of separation production EKhZ was completed in 2025. The next step will be for technical re-equipment at the Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Plant (AEKhK – Angarskom Elektroliznom Khimicheskom Kombinate) in the Irkutsk Region.
“Rosatom’s Fuel Division has been implementing a record production programme for several consecutive years at a confident pace,” said TVEL President Natalya Nikipelova. “It is implementing large-scale production modernisation projects at all stages of the nuclear fuel cycle, which cover our enterprises. The nuclear industry has already invested heavily in modernising facilities for the fabrication of nuclear fuel, uranium enrichment and conversion, and the production of gas centrifuges for isotope separation. This work will become the basis for achieving ambitious goals for the production of enriched uranium and nuclear fuel for operating NPPs and those under construction in Russia and abroad.”
