smr & mining
https://www.kitco.com/news/202…mall-modular-reactor.html
&
https://rosatom.ru/en/press-ce…for-kyuchus-gold-deposit/
Russian gold miner will use nuclear energy from the world's first land-based small modular reactor
(Kitco News) -
Seligdar, one of the largest gold producers in Russia, said today it
has signed an agreement with the state nuclear corporation Rosatom on
the supply of energy generated by a small modular nuclear reactor for
the Kyuchus gold deposit in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
The agreement signed by Evgeny Pakermanov, President of Rusatom Overseas and Sergey Ryzhov, Chairman of Seligdar, sets a 40-years period of electrical power supply provided by the world's first land-based small modular nuclear reactor, starting from June 30, 2028. The period of nuclear energy usage can be extended due to a high probability of the deposit's reserves increase.
Seligdar added it will use at least 35 MW of nuclear-generated electrical energy for the Kyuchus deposit project, which is one of the Russia's largest gold deposits with gold reserves exceeding 175 tonnes.
The construction of a small modular nuclear reactor of Russian design that is planned in Yakutia, will employ the most advanced reactor plant RITM-200, which incorporates many years of operating experience of small reactors at the vessels of the Russian icebreaker fleet (more than 400 reactor-years).
_
http://www.okbm.nnov.ru/en/med…d-based-nuclear-power-pl/
RITM-200 will be Landed. Yury Fadeyev’s Interview
JSC “Afrikantov OKBM” of Nizhny Novgorod, the company that designed the
RITM-200 marine reactor plant, is getting down to work on a project for
adapting its product for land-based nuclear power stations. Yury
Fadeyev, the Chief Designer of Pressurized Water Reactor Plants in JSC
“Afrikantov OKBM”, told RC how and for what it is being done.
— RITM‑200 may become a basis for medium-sized reactors. How can this be done, from the engineering point of view?
— RITM-200 installed in an icebreaker, taking into account its own
power consumption, generates 30 MWe per one unit. Without changing the
reactor design, just by optimizing reactor plant parameters and thermal
schematic, this power may be increased to 50 MW. If we are speaking
about the medium-sized nuclear power stations, a few hundred megawatts
could be built up through putting together a number of modular reactor
plants like RITM-200. This is one of the world’s trends now. However,
everything will be determined by economics — by whether or not this
scheme is going to be competitive. The objective of ensuring
competitiveness will be achieved at the level of the whole station — for
example, by the architectural design, modularity, etc.
— Let us speak then in more detail about what it is to be done to put RITM-200 on the ground.
— I’ll repeat it again, there is no need to do anything with the
reactor plant — the main equipment in the reactor plant will remain
unchanged. Most likely, the power unit layout will change — the
locations of the equipment in the rooms at the station. Plus, a certain
upgrade will have to be made on the refueling complex in connection with
the land-based conditions. Additional fuel handling equipment will be
added, which the icebreaker does not have. Also, an upgraded high-power
turbine will have to be installed in the land-based power unit. Of
course, purely architectural design solutions are important — we got to
avoid large construction work scopes, try to switch over to promptly
erected structures — finished or prefabricated.
— How do you think, is it more expensive to build a land-based plant than an icebreaker plant?
— The reactor plant will cost practically the same. And if a nuclear
power station and an icebreaker are compared, I think that the station
will be somewhat more expensive. First, additional equipment is required
for the nuclear power station; second, the icebreaker plant is a fully
factory made product. By definition, it’s got to be cheaper.
— Are there specs that you are striving to achieve?
— Our specialists now are developing a technical assignment where the
target specs will be stated. Whether or not we are going to achieve
them, it is a matter of performing the design work.
— Which companies are going to be partners in the project?
— Ours is only the reactor plant. We will have to function as a work
integrator, a technical manager. The stations themselves will be
developed by specialized organizations. Is it going to be ASE or is it
going to be another organization — this matter is now being decided
upon. We are studying this matter jointly with Rosenergoatom and
ROSATOM.
— What are your thoughts on why ROSATOM started to think about developing land-based power units with RITM-200?
— Because there are many consumers for this power level, mostly
abroad. ROSATOM wants to see what economic parameters we are going to
get and if we will be able to promote this product at the external
market. And at the internal market too.
— What are the markets you are speaking about?
— Nuclear power stations with RITM-200 are designed to operate either
with low-current grids, or in local, limited power systems for a
specific consumer.
The internal market for them is undeveloped regions, like the Urals,
Siberia, the territories that are being developed and lack for
electricity.
As for the external market, now we are contacting Indonesia,
Philippines. There are many islands that have a huge shortage of
electricity. Outside Russia, in particular in Turkey, there are
sufficiently large companies operating fossil-fueled floating power
generating units. And these are units with the installed power of up to
300 MW. There are consumers in West Africa,
East Africa, Indonesia. They have quite high cost of kilowatt-hour; nonetheless, electricity is bought at this price there.
— You said that you are writing the technical assignment for a
land-based nuclear power station. When will the work on the conceptual
design be finished?
— We are planning to start the work literally in the fourth quarter of
this year. We hope to finish the conceptual design in the first or in
the middle of the second quarter the next year.
— Who is a customer for the work?
— Rosenergoatom will be the customer. Rosenergoatom funds the work too.
— What is going to happen after you prepare the conceptual design for a land-based nuclear power station with RITM‑200?
— Based on the conceptual design, an economic model will be built. We
will estimate it jointly with the general designer and Rosenergoatom.
— Does it mean that with the development of the land-based nuclear
power station with RITM-200 reactor plants OKBM abandons the VBER
water-moderated, water-cooled modular reactor design?
— No, it does not. You see, VBER is in another power range — it is up
to 600 MWe. It is another story that it has to have sufficiently large
power centers; hence, considering today’s conditions in the Russian
economy, the development of VBER has been put to a pause for the time
being. I hope this work will continue in due time.
bg bh
