RITM-200 | |
---|---|
Generation | Generation III+ reactor |
Reactor concept | Pressurized water reactor |
Reactor types | RITM-200 [1] RITM-200S [2] |
Status | operational |
Main parameters of the reactor core | |
Fuel (fissile material) | 235U (LEU) |
Fuel state | Solid |
Neutron energy spectrum | Thermal |
Primary control method | Control rods |
Primary moderator | Water |
Primary coolant | Liquid (light water) |
Reactor usage | |
Primary use | Generation of electricity and propulsion |
Power (thermal) | RITM-200: 175 MWth [7] RITM-200S: 198 MWth [8] Contents340 MWth [12] |
Power (electric) | RITM-200: 55 MWe RITM-400: 120 MWe |
The RITM-200 is an integrated Generation III+ pressurized water reactor developed by OKBM Afrikantov and designed to produce 55 MWe. [13] [14] The design is an improvement of KLT-40S reactor. It uses up to 20% enriched uranium-235 and can be refueled every 10 years for a 60 year planned lifespan in floating power plant installation. [15] If installed in a stationary power plant the fuel cycle is 6 years.
The RITM-200 has a compact integrated layout placing equipment within the steam generator casing, halving system weight compared to earlier designs and improving ability to operate in rolling and pitching seas. [16]
It powers the Project 22220 icebreakers, the first of which went critical in October 2019. [17] [18] Since 2012, ten RITM‑200 reactors have been manufactured for five Russian Project 22220 multi-purpose nuclear icebreakers. Six reactors are installed on the Arktika, Sibir and Ural icebreakers, which are already in operation. Construction of the other two, Yakutia and Chukotka, is nearing completion. [19]
In November 2020 Rosatom announced plans to place a land-based RITM-200N [20] SMR in isolated Ust-Kuyga town in Yakutia. [21] The reactor will replace current coal and oil based electricity and heat generation at half the price. [22] In April 2023, a license was given for a pilot RITM-200N plant to be built near the village of Ust-Kuiga, with commissioning planned for 2028. [23]
RITM‑200M reactors will also be installed on the floating power units to supply power to the Baimsky GOK mining site in Chukotka. [19] They are planned to be put in operation in 2029. [24]
The volume of investments in the project was estimated at RUB900bn ($10bn). However, Georgy Fotin, Director General of Baimskaya Management Company, said in April, that the assessment had been revised upwards and some RUB170bn had already been invested.
The Baim project will be supplied with electricity using the new FNPPs of the PEB-106 project, designed for operation in the Far North and Far East. They will use the new RITM-200S reactors, which will supply 106 MWe to consumers. Their service life is 40 years and the interval between refuelling is five years. The units will be held in place by rigid mooring devices, which make it possible to compensate for the movement of the power units from the ebb and flow. The power generated by the power unit is transmitted to the shore using 50 high-voltage cables. Three main floating power units and one reserve unit will be installed, which will be used during the repair of the main units. [25]
On May 27, 2024, Rosatom signed a contract to construct a 330 MW nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan's Jizzakh Region, featuring six 55 MWe RITM-200N small modular reactors. [19] [26] [27]
RITM-400 is a project of a pressurised water reactor with a planned capacity of 80 to 90 MW. The reactor is being developed by OKBM Afrikantov, a nuclear engineering company that is part of Rosatom. [28]
As of November 2023, Nornickel and Rosatom were considering the possibility of setting up low-capacity nuclear power plants to supply energy to the Norilsk Industrial District. A high-tech project of a low-capacity nuclear power plant based on the latest RITM-400 reactor unit may be considered as a priority.
A nuclear-powered icebreaker is an icebreaker with an onboard nuclear power plant that produces power for the vessel's propulsion system. Although more expensive to operate, nuclear-powered icebreakers provide a number of advantages over their diesel-powered counterparts, especially along the Northern Sea Route where heavy power demand associated with icebreaking, limited refueling infrastructure along the Siberian coast, and endurance required make diesel-powered icebreaker operations challenging. As of 2023, Russia is the only country that builds and operates nuclear-powered icebreakers, having built a number of such vessels to aid shipping along the Northern Sea Route and Russian arctic outposts since the Soviet era.
The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is a shipping route about 5,600 kilometres (3,500 mi) long. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is the shortest shipping route between the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region.
Nuclear marine propulsion is propulsion of a ship or submarine with heat provided by a nuclear reactor. The power plant heats water to produce steam for a turbine used to turn the ship's propeller through a gearbox or through an electric generator and motor. Nuclear propulsion is used primarily within naval warships such as nuclear submarines and supercarriers. A small number of experimental civil nuclear ships have been built.
State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, also known as Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation,, or Rosatom State Corporation, is a Russian state corporation headquartered in Moscow that specializes in nuclear energy, nuclear non-energy goods and high-tech products. It was established in 2007 and comprises more than 350 enterprises, including scientific research organizations, a nuclear weapons complex, and the world's only nuclear icebreaker fleet.
Russia is one of the world's largest producers of nuclear energy. In 2020 total electricity generated in nuclear power plants in Russia was 215.746 TWh, 20.28% of all power generation. The installed gross capacity of Russian nuclear reactors is 29.4 GW in December 2020.
The KLT-40 family are nuclear fission reactors originating from OK-150 and OK-900 ship reactors. KLT-40 were developed to power the Taymyr-class icebreakers and the LASH carrier Sevmorput. They are pressurized water reactors (PWR) fueled by either 30–40% or 90% enriched uranium-235 fuel to produce 135 to 171 MW of thermal power.
Floating nuclear power stations are vessels designed by Rosatom, the Russian state-owned nuclear energy corporation. They are self-contained, low-capacity, floating nuclear power plants. Rosatom plans to mass-produce the stations at shipbuilding facilities and then tow them to ports near locations that require electricity.
The VBER-300 is a proposed Russian pressurized water reactor of 325-MWe generating capacity designed for remote locations. The exterior containment structure is 16 meters high and the working section, built with transportable modules, weighs 1300 tonnes. The external steam plant can have a 917 MW thermal-steam only capacity, or 325 MW steam-turbine-electrical capacity, or a mixture of capacities relating to the four primary steam loops.
Akademik Lomonosov is a non-self-propelled power barge that operates as the first Russian floating nuclear power station. The ship was named after academician Mikhail Lomonosov. It is docked in the Pevek harbour, providing heat to the town and supplying electricity to the regional Chaun-Bilibino power system. It is the world’s northernmost nuclear power plant.
The small modular reactor (SMR) is a class of small nuclear fission reactor, designed to be built in a factory, shipped to operational sites for installation and then used to power buildings or other commercial operations. The term SMR refers to the size, capacity and modular construction. Reactor type and the nuclear processes may vary. Of the many SMR designs, the pressurized water reactor (PWR) is the most common. However, recently proposed SMR designs include: generation IV, thermal-neutron reactors, fast-neutron reactors, molten salt, and gas-cooled reactor models.
The BN-800 reactor is a sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor, built at the Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station, in Zarechny, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. The reactor is designed to generate 880 MW of electrical power. The plant was considered part of the weapons-grade Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement signed between the United States and Russia. The reactor is part of the final step for a plutonium-burner core The plant reached its full power production in August 2016. According to Russian business journal Kommersant, the BN-800 project cost 140.6 billion rubles.
The BN-1200 reactor is a sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor project, under development by OKBM Afrikantov in Zarechny, Russia. The BN-1200 is based on the earlier BN-600 and especially BN-800, with which it shares a number of features. The reactor's name comes from its electrical output, nominally 1220 MWe.
OKBM Afrikantov is a nuclear engineering company located in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. It is a subsidiary of Rosatom.
Arktika is a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker built by Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg. It is the lead ship of Project 22220 icebreakers and superseded the preceding class of nuclear-powered icebreakers as the largest and most powerful icebreaker ever constructed.
Sibir is a Russian Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreaker. Built by Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg, the vessel was laid down in 2015, launched in 2017, and delivered in December 2021.
Ural is a Russian Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreaker. Built by Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg, the vessel was laid down in 2016, launched in 2019 and delivered in 2022.
Yakutiya is a Russian Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreaker currently under construction at Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg.
Chukotka is a Russian Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreaker currently under construction at Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg.