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Rosatom To Develop New Submersible NPP Reactors and New Nuclear-Powered Icebreakers
2 April 2017
EIRNS — Speaking at the Arctic Forum Rosatom’s Chief Executive Officer Alexei Likhachev told TASS that the company is developing mobile subsea power units capable of supplying power to offshore Arctic gas fields and expanding its icebreaker fleet. "There is a range of units of smaller capacity under development to generate electric power — 5-6 MW and 20-30 MW. These are mobile, including subsea power units for development of offshore fields," Likhachev said. "We work diligently for our floating power plant to start operations in 2019 in Pevek, Chukotka. It will provide us with an opportunity to not merely implement such Arctic project in Russia for the first time, but also to make it export-focused." Likhachev also said Rosatom will add a new generation to its nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet. "As far as the fleet’s further expansion is concerned, we are to order more effective icebreakers, the Leader class ones, for instance. It makes no sense to make just one pilot project without having plans for its eventual serial production. Indeed, three to five icebreakers of a new generation will have to be built. But a decision to lay the keel of the first Leader icebreaker is to be made first," Likhachev said. The project would require substantial government support. While the Arktika nuclear icebreaker is currently under construction at the cost of 37 billion rubles ($600 million), the Leader will cost more. Earlier, Deputy Economic Development Minister Aleksandr Tsybulsky said new Leader class, also known as project 10510, will be equipped with a 120 MW power plant, and cost 70 billion rubles ($1.2 billion) to build. Twice as powerful and three times wider, the Leader is designed to escort far larger ships. According to Likachev, "In 2015, with the support of the Rosatom nuclear fleet, 195 vessels with a total cargo capacity of 2 million tonnes were navigated along the Northern Sea Route, in 2016 this number was already 410 vessels and the cargo volume reached 5.3 million tonnes. I think that in 2017, this increase will be maintained, because there are relevant contracts." This is expected to increase in 3-5 years to 35 million tonnes. The Russian Transport Ministry forecasts cargo turnover along the Northern Sea Route by 2020 will grow tenfold to 65 million tons per year. The distance between St. Petersburg to Vladivostok along the Northern Sea Route is some 14,000 km, compared with 23,000 km if vessels sail via the Suez Canal. [dea] |