Rosatom General Director Alexey Likhachev said that Rosatom's most advanced technology today is the RITM reactor line, which is used for floating nuclear power plants and land-based nuclear power plants with many different capacities.
As a world leader in the field of small-capacity nuclear power plants, we are not standing still. The US's acceleration of development in this field further motivates us to expand our product portfolio. Currently, Rosatom is simultaneously implementing many new projects. About a dozen reactor projects for small-capacity nuclear power plants are in many stages of development and implementation," he said.
According to Mr. Likhachev, Rosatom's main product today is the RITM reactor line.
We have 13 RITM reactors with different capacities serving the Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet. The 14th reactor is being built for the new floating nuclear power plant serving the Baimskoye mine, the second reactor of the same project is in the final stage of completion," he added.
The General Director of Rosatom also revealed that in June, the company started construction of a land-based nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan with 2 small-capacity units. Reactors for this project are also being produced.
These are not experimental models but mass-produced commercial solutions. Currently, Rosatom's enterprises are manufacturing a total of 11 reactors for small-capacity nuclear power plants in various stages," he emphasized.
General Director Likhachev added that Rosatom also plans to expand its product portfolio to micro-capacity reactors. The Russian nuclear corporation is actively developing the Shelf-M reactor complex, expected to be used at the small-capacity nuclear power plant in Chukotka to supply electricity to the Elkonsky Mining and Metallurgy Company.
According to the design, Shelf-M can generate 10 MW of electricity and 35 MW of heat, with an operating life of up to 60 years.
Mr. Likhachev said that Rosatom has completed the construction progress of the factory using Shelf-M, started surveying the construction site, completed the durability testing phase of nuclear fuel and is completing the determination of the total investment of the project.
Also in a sharing with TASS, Rosatom General Director Alexey Likhachev said that the US's acceleration of the development of small-capacity nuclear power plants is proof that Rosatom has chosen the right direction of development, and also reflects the trend of accelerating nuclear power development globally.
The fact that the US government and US businesses are expanding operations in this field is one of the clear proofs that forecasts about accelerating nuclear energy development in the world are no longer just hypotheses but are becoming a process happening right in front of our eyes" - he emphasized.
Mr. Likhachev also congratulated his US colleagues for putting micro-nuclear reactors into the actual production phase for the first time in decades. According to him, the US's active promotion of small-capacity nuclear power plant projects once again affirms the correctness of the strategy that Rosatom has pursued when putting into operation the world's first small-capacity floating nuclear power plant in Chukotka.
