The sole floating nuclear power plant (FNPP) in the world has generated its first billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in the Arctic region. The technology has proven to be sufficient and effective for hard-to-reach areas, making it a suitable solution for African countries with coastlines.
“The past year was a landmark for the FNPP. The FNPP first fuel campaign was successfully completed in Arctic conditions, which was a challenge we overcame. I attribute this success primarily to the effective planning and coordinated work of the plant personnel,” said Natalia Tarasova, Deputy HR Director at the Akademik Lomonosov FNPP.
Akademik Lomonosov FNPP based in Pevek (Russia) is northernmost nuclear power plant in the world with a capacity of 70 MW. During operation, it has achieved many successes and highlights, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 390,000 tonnes and providing more than 4,000 residents of Pevek with a continuous supply of heat and electricity. The plant is preparing to celebrate its first anniversary in May 2025, marking five years since it began commercial operations.
Small modular reactors (SMRs) – both floating and ground-based – are reliable and uninterrupted sources of clean energy, offering a lot of advantages, including: reduced emissions, easy to build, and scalable power generation due to their modular design.
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The introduction of such technologies could be a part of a balanced energy mix, reliable and affordable source of energy to African countries. In June 2024, Rosatom signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Guinea to develop floating power units (FPUs) with RITM-200 reactors, which have already proven efficient.
The ground-based modification with RITM-200N is planned to be installed at 1 Unit of Yakutsk NPP (Russia). In 2024, Rosatom also has signed its first export contract for the construction of SMR equipped with RITM-200 reactors in Uzbekistan.
In October 2024, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev announced plans to complete the design of FPU with two RITM-200M reactor units for foreign projects till the end of the year. He emphasised that dozens of foreign countries have expressed their interest to the FPU projects, including Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia and Malaysia.
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