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First concrete poured for Leningrad's eighth unit

Thursday, 20 March 2025

A ceremony has been held to mark first concrete being poured on Thursday for the foundation of the reactor building for unit 4 at the Leningrad II nuclear power plant in Russia.

Leningrad units 1 and 2 - both 1000 MWe RBMK units - shut down in 2018 and 2020, respectively. As the first two of the plant's four RBMK-1000 units shut down, new VVER-1200 units started at the neighbouring Leningrad II plant. The 60-year service life of these fifth and sixth units (also known as Leningrad II-1 and Leningrad II-2) secures power supply until the 2080s. Units 7 and 8 will replace units 3 and 4 as they are shut in the coming years.

Fiirst concrete was poured for unit 7 in March 2024 and marked the start of the main phase of construction of the new power unit, which is expected to generate power for 60 years, with the possibility of a 20-year extension.

Unit 8 has now reached the same step a year later. Representatives from Rosatom's VVER-1200-powered plants in Belarus, Egypt and Bangladesh took part in the ceremony via videolink.

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Leningrad units 7 and 8 (or Leningrad II-3 and Leningrad II-4) are planned to be commissioned in 2030 and 2032, respectively.

Third unit at Kursk II gets approval from Rostekhnadzor

Thursday, 6 March 2025

Russian nuclear regulator Rostekhnadzor has issued a location licence for the proposed third unit at the Kursk II nuclear power plant, allowing preparatory work to begin for construction.



Kursk II will more than replace Kursk NPP's output (Image: Rosatom)

Kursk II is a new nuclear power plant in western Russia, about 60 kilometres (37.5 miles) from the Ukraine border, that will feature four VVER-TOI reactors, the latest version of Russia's large light-water designs. They have upgraded pressure vessels and a higher power rating of 3300 MWt that enables them to generate 1300 MWe gross. Construction of the first unit began in 2018, its polar crane was installed in October 2021 and the reactor vessel was put in place in June 2022. Concreting of the outer dome of the first unit was completed in August 2023. The second unit is also under construction.

The new units will replace the four units at the existing, nearby Kursk nuclear power plant, which are scheduled to have shut by 2031. The first unit was shut down after 45 years of operation in December 2021. The original design life for the four RBMK-1000 reactors at the plant was for 30 years but had been extended by 15 years following life extension programmes.

Kursk NPP Director Alexander Uvakin said: "We have substantiated and proven that the placement of power unit No.3 with a VVER-TOI reactor complies with Russian standards and regulations in the field of nuclear energy use. The project has worked out all aspects of safety in detail ... an analysis of the current and predicted state of the area where the sites will be located allows us to assess all power units of Kursk NPP-2 as environmentally safe."

Alexander Khazin, Advisor to the President of JSC ASE, said: "The presence of a placement licence allows us to begin the preparatory period of construction. Considering that almost the entire territory is located within the existing land allotment of Rosenergoatom, this will help preserve valuable agricultural and forest lands. Also, there are no historical and cultural monuments or specially protected natural sites within its boundaries."

Construction of Leningrad 7 'running ahead of schedule'

12 July 2024

Rosatom says that the work on the reactor building is currently running two and a half months ahead of schedule, with concreting of the foundation completed.


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BN-1200 plans clear environmental hurdle

17 May 2024

The Russian environmental regulator Rosprirodnadzor has approved the plans for a BN-1200M fast sodium reactor at the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant.

According to Rosatom, Rosprirodnadzor said that its investigations showed that "there is no significant impact on the environment" and the project meets the requirements of environmental legislation. The response will be included in documents submitted to Russia's nuclear regulator Rostechnadzor, who will decide on issuing a licence for the proposed new nuclear power unit.

Ivan Sidorov, director of the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant, said that as part of the development of next generation - Generation IV - reactors, Rosatom "is creating a new technological platform for the deployment of nuclear energy of the future, based on fast reactors operating in a closed nuclear fuel cycle". It will be the prototype of a serial power unit, he said, as they seek to move from "single unique projects, such as BN-600 and BN-800", to serial production of the BN-1200. "New technological solutions make it possible to fully utilise the energy potential of uranium raw materials, and also have a new level of safety," he added.

The sodium-cooled BN-series fast reactor plans are part of Rosatom's project to develop fast reactors with a closed fuel cycle whose mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel will be reprocessed and recycled. In addition to the BN-600 reactor, which began operation in 1980, the 789 MWe BN-800 fast neutron reactor - constructed as Beloyarsk unit 4 - entered commercial operation in October 2016. This is essentially a demonstration unit for fuel and design features for the larger BN-1200, which will be unit 5 at Beloyarsk.

Rosatom says the projects at Beloyarsk nuclear power plant, in the Sverdlovsk region, are aimed at "solving the strategic task of the nuclear industry to develop a closed nuclear fuel cycle, which will provide fuel for the nuclear power industry for hundreds of years, allow for the reuse of used nuclear fuel and minimise radioactive waste".

First concrete poured at Leningrad 7

14 March 2024

The concreting of the 2100-square-metre foundation slab for the new VVER-1200 unit has begun, with those attending the occasion told the additional Leningrad nuclear power plant capacity would help towards Russia achieving a 25% energy share for nuclear by 2045.


(Image: Rosenergoatom)

The Leningrad nuclear power plant is one of the largest in Russia, with an installed capacity of 4400 MWe, and provides more than 55% of the electricity demand of St Petersburg and the Leningrad region, or 30% of all the electricity in northwest Russia.

The pouring of the first concrete for unit 7 marks the start of the main phase of construction of the new power unit which is expected to generate power for 60 years, with the possibility of a 20-year extension. The foundation slab needs 5500 cubic metres of concrete, with the aim to complete it by the summer, after which the construction of the floors and the inner and outer containment shells of the reactor building can begin. The aim is for unit 7 to enter commercial operation in 2030.
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Preparatory work stepped up for Russia's first land-based SMR

09 February 2024

Construction of worker camps and a new road to the site is under way for the Yakutia small modular reactor project, with Rosenergoatom officially designated as the operating organisation by parent company Rosatom.


How the SMR could look (Image: Rosatom)

The small modular reactor (SMR) is a water-cooled RITM-200N 55 MW reactor that has been adapted from the RITM-200 series used to power Russia's latest fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers. It will be built near Ust-Kuyga in Yakutia (also known as Sakha) in Russia's Arctic north, with the aim of commissioning in 2028.

Nuclear regulator Rostekhnadzor granted the construction licence in April 2023. In an update on progress Rosatom said "preparatory work ... is proceeding at full tilt: the building of the first construction camp for 250 persons has been completed; the first stage construction of the second camp for 683 persons has commenced and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024". Construction of a new 12 kilometre stretch of road linking Ust-Kuyga and the SMR site has started, it added, as well as other construction base facilities, and 9,500 tonnes of cargo is scheduled to be delivered om the next few months.

The aim of the plant is "to provide a clean, cost-effective and stable source of energy to the remote Arctic territories of Yakutia with a decentralised energy supply. The electric power of the station will be at least 55 MW, the service life of non-replaceable equipment will be up to 60 years".

Although it is planned to be the first land-based SMR in Russia, the country has plans for a widespread roll-out of small reactors in the year ahead - it says its goal is to have up to 20% of the global market for small and micro modular reactors. Its estimate is that they will number in the hundreds in the coming years.

Within Rosatom's structure, with the SMR, Rosenergoatom acts as the technical customer and operating organisation, and Rusatom Overseas as the developer.

Russian 2023 uranium production exceeds target

23 January 2024

Rosatom's mining division exceeded its uranium production target by 90 tonnes in 2023, it told its annual Stakeholder Dialogue event. Meanwhile, progress is being made on new mining operations.

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According to World Nuclear Association information, Russia produced 2508 tU in 2022, making it the sixth largest producer of uranium in the world, while Russian reactor requirements for 2023 were estimated at 6284 tU.

First lead-cooled fast neutron reactor's installation under way

17 January 2024

A steel reactor base plate and the lower tier of the containment has been installed in what is being called a landmark moment for construction of the BREST-OD-300 generation IV fast neutron reactor in Russia.


Image: Rosatom

The reactor base plate, weighing 165 tonnes, was delivered to the site in two pieces in September 2022 and has been assembled on site. It is designed to equalise the loads on the foundation from the elements of the reactor vessel. The pouring of concrete for the foundation slab was completed in August 2021. The first part of the reactor vessel, the lower tier of the containment, has also been loaded into the reactor shaft.

The lead-cooled BREST-OD-300 fast reactor is part of Rosatom's Proryv, or Breakthrough, project to enable a closed nuclear fuel cycle. The 300 MWe unit will be the main facility of the Pilot Demonstration Energy Complex at the Siberian Chemical Combine site. The complex will demonstrate an on-site closed nuclear fuel cycle with a facility for the fabrication/re-fabrication of mixed uranium-plutonium nitride nuclear fuel, as well as a used fuel reprocessing facility.

A fuel production facility and an irradiated fuel reprocessing module are scheduled to be built by 2023 and 2024, respectively, while the BREST-OD-300 reactor is expected to start operation in 2026.

Vadim Lemekhov, chief designer of the BREST-OD-300 reactor unit and the project team, said: "We have started installation of the world’s first lead-cooled fast reactor, the fourth generation reactor BREST-OD-300. Unlike traditional light-water VVER thermal reactors, BREST has an integral layout. Its vessel is not an all-metal structure like the VVER, but a metal-concrete structure with metal cavities to accommodate the primary circuit equipment. The space between the cavities should be gradually filled with concrete filler during construction. In addition, the BREST vessel is larger in size, it can be delivered only in parts, and the final assembly is possible only at the construction site."

Fast reactors such as BREST-OD-300 are able to use secondary products from the traditional reactors' fuel cycle, such as plutonium, for their own fuel, as well as being to produce more potential fuel than they consume. The reactor will provide itself with its main energy component - plutonium-239 - by reproducing it from the isotope uranium-238, Russia's fuel company, TVEL, says. As about 99% of natural uranium is uranium-238, Rosatom says "the introduction of such technologies will increase exponentially the efficiency of natural uranium".

According to the World Nuclear Association information paper on fast neutron reactors, "the BREST fast neutron reactor, of 700 MWt, 300 MWe has lead as the primary coolant, at 540°C, and supercritical steam generators. It is inherently safe and uses a mixed uranium and plutonium nitride fuel... no weapons-grade plutonium can be produced, since there is no uranium blanket - all the breeding occurs in the core ... fuel cycle is quoted at 5-6 years with partial refuelling at about 10 months. The initial cores can comprise plutonium and spent fuel - hence loaded with fission products, and radiologically 'hot'. Subsequently, any surplus plutonium, which is not in pure form, can be used as the cores of new reactors. Used fuel can be recycled indefinitely, with onsite facilities. The nitride fuel has been successfully tested in the BN-600 reactor to a burn-up of 7.4%".

Initial operation of the demonstration unit will be focused on performance and after 10 years or so it will be commercially oriented. The plan has been that if it is successful as a 300 MWe unit, a 1200 MWe (2800 MWt) version will follow - the BR-1200.

La Russie dévoile un nouveau réacteur de brise-glace à propulsion nucléaire pour ses ambitions arctiques

AFP le 05 déc. 2023

Le géant russe de l'énergie atomique Rosatom a dévoilé mardi un nouveau réacteur destiné à équiper son futur brise-glace à propulsion nucléaire, crucial pour les ambitions polaires de Moscou, qui veut faire des eaux de l'Arctique une route commerciale vers l'Asie.

Le réacteur RITM-200 "fera partie du système énergétique de tous les brise-glace modernes", a prédit Vladislav Païkov, directeur général adjoint de ZiO-Podolsk, qui fait partie de la branche ingénierie de Rosatom, lors d'une présentation à Podolsk, au sud de Moscou.

Il a affirmé que ce type de réacteur était "beaucoup plus léger, beaucoup plus compact et beaucoup plus puissant que des réacteurs similaires avant lui".

La Russie accélère son développement de l'Arctique, région qu'elle juge essentielle pour exporter vers l'Asie ses hydrocarbures.

Cette ambition a été confortée aux yeux du Kremlin, par les sanctions dues à l'offensive en Ukraine qui ont privé la Russie d'une grande partie des marchés européens.

Tirant profit de la fonte des glaces, sous l'effet du réchauffement climatique, Moscou espère imposer sa "Route maritime du Nord" pour rallier l'Europe à l'Asie.

Maxime Koulinko, directeur général adjoint du directoire "Route maritime du Nord" de Rosatom, a indiqué que le nouveau brise-glace, baptisé "Tchoukotka", devrait entrer en service d'ici 2026.

Le navire sera adapté à la fois à la mer et aux fleuves, a-t-il précisé, ajoutant que la Russie mettait en place des infrastructures pour transporter 150 millions de tonnes de marchandises via cette route maritime d'ici 2030.

Le nouveau réacteur "est d'une importance capitale pour la création et le fonctionnement de cette infrastructure", a estimé Maxime Koulinko lors de la cérémonie.

Les brise-glace à propulsion nucléaire sont mieux adaptés à cette "Route maritime du Nord", à cause de la puissance requise et des possibilités limitées de ravitaillement.

La Russie possède la seule flotte de brise-glace à propulsion nucléaire au monde.

IAEA finds commitment to safety at Russian fast reactor

24 November 2023

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts have reviewed operational safety at unit 4 of Russia's Beloyarsk nuclear power plant. It marks the first Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) mission to a fast neutron reactor.



OSART missions aim to improve operational safety by objectively assessing safety performance using the IAEA's Safety Standards and proposing recommendations for improvement where appropriate.

A team comprising experts from Armenia, Belarus, China, France, Iran, Slovakia and the UK as well as four IAEA officials and three observers from Russia, conducted an OSART mission to the Beloyarsk plant from 6 to 23 November. The mission was carried out at the request of the Russian government.

The team reviewed operating practices at unit 4 in the areas of leadership and management for safety, training and qualification, operations, maintenance, technical support, radiation protection, chemistry and accident management.
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ROSATOM plans to construct nuclear power plant with capacity of up to 10MW in Chukotka


By NS Energy Staff Writer 16 Jun 2023

The agreement outlines the intentions and procedures for cooperation between the parties in the construction of a nuclear power plant to ensure reliable and low-carbon power supply to the Sovinoye gold deposit and the settlements of the Chukotka Autonomous Region

ROSATOM and the Government of Chukotka have signed an agreement to collaborate on the implementation of a small nuclear power plant project in the region based on the latest Russian SHELF-M reactor plant. The agreement was signed during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Alexei Likhachev, Director General of ROSATOM, and Vladislav Kuznetsov, Acting Governor and Chairman of the Government of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug signed the document.

The agreement outlines the intentions and procedures for cooperation between the parties in the construction of a nuclear power plant to ensure reliable and low-carbon power supply to the Sovinoye gold deposit and the settlements of the Chukotka Autonomous Region.

“Small nuclear power plant projects are of great importance for the socio-economic development of remote and decentralised energy supply regions of Russia. Implementation of such projects gives rise to new promising industrial projects and creates new jobs and professions, thereby contributing to economic growth and improving people’s lives. We are already operating the only floating NPP in the world, the “Akademik Lomonosov,” and implementing the project of the first Russian land-based SMR in Yakutia with the RITM-200N reactor. Today, together with the Government of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, we have confirmed our intention to cooperate on the new nuclear energy project. SHELF-M expands the range of low-power reactors and our capabilities for the use of nuclear energy, adapting technologies to the needs of customers,” said Alexei Likhachev.

“Chukotka is the flagship region for the implementation of domestic projects of small nuclear power plants. In 1974, the first power unit of the Bilibino NPP with a capacity of 12 MW was put into operation. In 2020, the world’s only floating nuclear power plant, the “Akademik Lomonosov,” was put into operation in the city of Pevek. This was a landmark event for our region and the entire global nuclear industry. The next step, which we intend to take jointly with ROSATOM, is the construction of a small land-based nuclear power plant with the SHELF-M reactor. I am sure that the development of a partnership with ROSATOM, one of the recognised world leaders in small nuclear power plants technologies, will give a new impetus to the innovative and industrial development of our region and will help us significantly improve the quality of people’s lives,” said Vladislav Kuznetsov.

The technical designs of the reactor plant and the main technological equipment are expected to be completed by 2024. The land-based small nuclear power plant with the SHELF-M reactor is planned to be commercially operational by 2030.

energy_isere a écrit : ↑

01 oct. 2022, 19:31

suite de 2 posts au dessus, le réacteur BN-800 est passé maintenant à un combustible 100 % MOX

“Full conversion of the BN-800 to MOX fuel is a long-anticipated milestone for the nuclear industry. For the first time in the history of Russian nuclear power, we proceed to operation of a fast neutron reactor with a full load of uranium-plutonium fuel and closed nuclear fuel cycle,” said Alexander Ugryumov, Senior Vice President for Research and Development at TVEL JSC.

“This is the original reason and target why the BN-800 was developed, and why Rosatom built the unique automated fuel fabrication facility at the Mining and Chemical Combine. Advanced technologies of fissile materials recycling and re-fabrication of nuclear fuel will make it possible to expand the resource feed-stock of the nuclear power, reprocess irradiated fuel instead of storing it, and to reduce the volumes of waste.”

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Arti ... ing-on-MOX

Beloyarsk BN-800 fast reactor running on MOX

13 September 2022

Unit 4 of Beloyarsk nuclear power plant with a BN-800 fast reactor has been connected to the grid and resumed operations after being fully loaded with uranium-plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel.

The plutonium for this was produced from uranium during the operation of other nuclear power plants and recovered from the used fuel assemblies through reprocessing.
MOX fuel is manufactured from plutonium recovered from used reactor fuel, mixed with depleted uranium which is a by-product from uranium enrichment.

“Full conversion of the BN-800 to MOX fuel is a long-anticipated milestone for the nuclear industry. For the first time in the history of Russian nuclear power, we proceed to operation of a fast neutron reactor with a full load of uranium-plutonium fuel and closed nuclear fuel cycle,” said Alexander Ugryumov, Senior Vice President for Research and Development at TVEL JSC.

“This is the original reason and target why the BN-800 was developed, and why Rosatom built the unique automated fuel fabrication facility at the Mining and Chemical Combine. Advanced technologies of fissile materials recycling and re-fabrication of nuclear fuel will make it possible to expand the resource feed-stock of the nuclear power, reprocess irradiated fuel instead of storing it, and to reduce the volumes of waste.”

​The unit is a sodium-cooled fast reactor which produces about 820 MWe. It started operation in 2016 and in 2020 achieved a capacity factor of 82% despite having an experimental role in proving reactor technologies and fuels.

Pourquoi le nucléaire russe n’est pas visé par les sanctions occidentales

Européens et Américains ont adopté plusieurs trains de sanctions pour réduire leur dépendance énergétique à l’égard de Moscou, mais le nucléaire russe n’a jamais fait partie des discussions. Le géant Rosatom reste un acteur incontournable du secteur, trop imbriqué dans les chaînes de valeur pour espérer s’en passer.

Louis de Briant 13 Avril 2022

Un petit-fils demande à son grand-père : «Grand-père, est-ce vrai qu'en 1986 il y a eu un accident à la centrale nucléaire de Tchernobyl ?» «Oui, il y en a eu», répond le grand-père en tapotant la tête du petit-fils. «Grand-père, c'est vrai que ça n'a eu absolument aucune conséquence ?» «Oui, absolument», répondit le grand-père en tapotant la deuxième tête du petit-fils. 36 ans après la catastrophe de Tchernobyl, le nucléaire russe n’a plus aussi mauvaise presse que sous l’URSS, où les blagues sur le sujet étaient légion. Sur les 57 réacteurs nucléaires bâtis dans le monde entre 2011 et 2022, 13 impliquaient Rosatom, dont 10 hors des frontières de la Russie, indique Hartmut Winkler, professeur de physique à l’Université de Johannesburg (Afrique du Sud) dans un article pour le site The Conversation.

La guerre en Ukraine écorne néanmoins l’image de Rosatom, la grande entreprise publique russe du nucléaire, qui a envoyé ses propres ingénieurs à la centrale ukrainienne de Zaporijia après l’avancée des troupes russes. «L'utilisation des ingénieurs de Rosatom pour l'encadrement des ingénieurs ukrainiens sur un territoire conquis, en violation directe du Statut de l'Agence internationale de l’énergie atomique, porte préjudice à l’image de l’entreprise russe», abonde Anastasiya Shapochkina, maître de conférences en géopolitique à Sciences Po Paris et présidente du cercle de réflexion Eastern Circles.

Des coopérations gelées ou réétudiées en Europe
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