Rosatom presents lineup of low-power reactors at Expo 2020 in Dubai

MINSK, 24 January (BelTA) – Rosatom presented a full lineup of small modular reactors (SMR) at Expo 2020 in Dubai, the press service of the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom told BelTA.

The presentation took place 20 January as part of the Small Modular Reactors Day, the key event of Rosatom's thematic week, which is taking place in Dubai these days. Rosatom Director General Aleksei Likhachev, the World Nuclear Association head Sama Bilbao y Leon, representatives of international organizations, foreign companies, and partner companies took part in the event. UAE Atomic Energy Corporation Director General Mohamed Al-Hammadi and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to the UAE Timur Zabirov also attended the event.

According to the press service, the Small Modular Reactors Day became an international venue for discussing advantages of small-scale nuclear energy industry and prospects of development and application of small modular reactor technologies all over the world. The presentation began with a multimedia show, which demonstrated advantages of small modular reactors for various climatic zones, ways to ensure steady electricity supply and achieve decarbonization goals.

In his speech Rosatom Director General Aleksei Likhachev mentioned favorable changes in the perception of nuclear energy, which are happening on the global scale. He said: “For me personally last year's UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow was a watershed moment. I literally felt the winds of change. A carbon-free future is impossible without the peaceful use of nuclear technology. The fact could be seen in decisions and declarations of all the energy and climate conferences last year. It is now understood that a stable energy system based only on variable energy sources cannot exist. It is now understood that the closure of nuclear power plants results in greater usage of hydrocarbons instead of broader adoption of renewable energy sources. The mankind understands and accepts that the climate goals and a low-carbon future are impossible without nuclear energy.”

As he answered questions during a panel discussion, the Rosatom head mentioned advantages of low-power nuclear power plants. It is obvious that “large” nuclear power plants can act as a reliable, uninterrupted, low-carbon source of electricity in countries with a high demand and a well-developed infrastructure. Low-power reactors can provide energy in remote areas, to island nations, to countries with lower power needs or to specific industrial projects, for instance, mining ones. Other advantages of small modular reactors are also obvious: the output capacity of such a nuclear power plant can be increased or decreased. Such a nuclear power plant can be built fast and requires less money to launch. A small modular reactor brings energy and heat to places where large nuclear power plants are unpractical due to economic considerations or are unavailable due to geographic peculiarities or limitations of the territory, the Rosatom head said. He noted: “Small modular reactors represent a contribution to equal energy opportunities for people round the world. It seems to me that it is a good goal to enable access to energy for everyone, particularly in a world where nearly one billion people don't have such access.”

Rosatom's First Deputy General Director, Director of Development and International Business Kirill Komarov stressed that Rosatom does not simply offer a unique low-power nuclear energy product. Rosatom offers a reference technology that is already used in Russia. The floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov has been supplying electricity and heat to the city of Pevek in Russia's Chukotka Peninsula for over two years already. “Apart from that, we've started implementing our first ground-based low-power nuclear power plant based on a RITM-200N reactor in Yakutia. It will be connected to the power grid in 2028,” he said.

Representatives of the relevant ministries and power companies from Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and the Philippines talked about how small-capacity nuclear power plants can accomplish a broad range of national development tasks. The head of the Russian polymetalic holding company Seligdar stated that only small modular reactors can provide energy reliably at a predictable price for the company's gold mining projects in Russia's north.

A number of agreements were signed to reaffirm the speakers' words about the strong demand for small modular reactor technologies. A memorandum of understanding and cooperation for building SMRs was signed with the Energy Ministry of Kyrgyzstan. AO Rusatom Overseas signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Armenian nuclear power plant and an agreement (memorandum) of intent with Seligdar Company. An online signing of the joint action plan on realizing preliminary feasibility studies for building a small-capacity nuclear power plant in the Philippines and the technical design specification for the preliminary feasibility studies for building the small-capacity nuclear power plant was an important part of the presentation.