Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation and En+ Group established a joint venture OAO AKME-engineering.

The 50/50 JV will design and produce a prototype 100 MW lead-bismuth fast reactor (SVBR-100) with a view of commercializing the technology.

SVBR-100 is being developed at the enterprises owned by Rosatom. The JV’s short-term plans include completing the RND for the project and producing a detailed design of the pilot reactor and principal equipment and also obtaining necessary licenses. A pilot power generating unit based on SVBR-100 technology is scheduled to be commissioned around 2019.

Nuclear power plants with SVBR reactors may be crucial for providing power to remote and detached regional consumers; this technology could be installed in mobile (floating) nuclear power plants complemented by sea water conversion units. Besides, the fast reactor technology could make an important contribution to the nuclear generation resource base.

Lead bismuth cooled reactor technology has been used in nuclear submarines and has proved to be safe and efficient.

Preliminary estimates show that the large-scale production of the new type reactors could make the specific Capex for constructing 1 kW of a nuclear power plant comparable to that for constructing 1 kW of a coal fired power plant, which will make it one of the lowest-cost plants in the power generation industry – and there will be zero greenhouse gas emission.

IAEA’s estimates show that some 500-1000 power generating units based on small-to-medium reactors can be launched in the period till 2040. The SVBR technology could account for 10% to 15% of the global nuclear power market of small-to-medium capacity.

“This is a pilot high-tech project to be implemented by the Rosatom State Corporation and a Russian private entity on a 50/50 basis. We think it’s an opportunity for us to use the huge groundwork we’ve done in the field of fast reactors and make it a commercialized and competitive product. We’re glad to see private investors in this country, who take the long view amid the economic crisis and who are ready to invest into new technologies that can take a significant share of the global market, once the crisis is over. We expect the government to provide a strong support of this high-tech project implementation. It will be put on the list of the projects under the aegis of the RF President’s Commission For Long-Term Development”, Rosatom Deputy Director General Peter Shchedrovitskiy said.

En+ Group CEO Vladislav Soloviev commented: “High-tech power generation projects and designs are the priority investment targets for En+ Group and EuroSibEnergo. We believe that the development of the nuclear power industry is one of the most promising ways to meet the rising demand for energy, with the lowest environmental impact in mind”.

About the JV founders:

En+ Group's strategy is to focus on businesses which extract raw materials for energy production, generate electricity and produce non-ferrous metals. En+ Group holds the controlling stake in United Company RUSAL, the world's largest producer of aluminium and alumina; En+ Group owns EuroSibEnergo, the largest private energy company in Russia, and a number of oil and gas assets, and coal assets. En+ Group companies produce about 11% of the world’s aluminium and 13% of its alumina, 9% of electric power and 5% of the Russia’s coal. (www.enplus.ru)

The Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation runs all nuclear assets of the Russian Federation, both civil and weapons. Along with commercial activities which move forward nuclear power and nuclear fuel cycle facilities, it acts as a governmental agent, primarily in the field of national security (nuclear deterrence), nuclear and radiation safety, basic and applied science. Besides, it has the authority to fulfill on behalf of the Russian Federation the international commitments undertaken by the nation with regard to the peaceful use of atomic energy and non-proliferation. ROSATOM was established on December 18, 2007. One of the most important ROSATOM constituents is Atomenergoprom that has incorporated all civil assets of the nuclear industry. ROSATOM also runs the nuclear ice-breaker fleet; another asset of the Company is INTER RAO UES, which manages energy assets in 14 countries. ROSATOM is headed by Sergey Kirienko. (www.rosatom.ru)