Russia is
committed to localizing nuclear technologies that strengthen its position on the
international market and create highly qualified jobs in areas where nuclear
power facilities are located. International cooperation is becoming a key
development factor, bringing together the efforts of different countries to
address global energy shortages. Renewable energy sources and small modular
reactors are innovative solutions that can ensure a stable energy supply even
in remote regions. In northern areas, the acute shortage of fuel is becoming a
serious challenge that could be overcome by developing nuclear technology. The
shortage of personnel in the nuclear power industry requires urgent training of
specialists for successful implementation of ambitious projects. Nuclear power is
becoming an important element in ensuring continuous development for resolving
current challenges. This was the conclusion reached at the session ‘Low-Carbon Energy:
The Foundation of a Sustainable Future’ at Russian Energy Week 2024 (REW).
KEY CONCLUSIONS
Russia seeks to localize nuclear technologies
"First, an argument in favour
of this is that we never build just plants. We always create an entire
industry, with all its subtleties and complexities, starting with personnel
training all the way down to working with schoolchildren and students, and
ending with proposals and technologies for future decommissioning of
facilities, even in a hundred years' time, in the literal sense of the word. We
always share knowledge and approaches in the first place, then we move on to
the material part in the second place. The second point is that, when moving to
the material part, to the stage of creating a nuclear facility, we try to
localize the work as much as possible among local companies and specialists. And
they won't let me lie, as they say in Russia – we always say: accept as much
localization as you can,” Alexey Likhachev, Director
General, State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM.
Developing nuclear power as a way to ensure sustainable development
“Renewable
energy, nuclear power and other clean technologies. We will generate a large
amount of energy produced by both nuclear power plants and renewable energy
sources,” Amged El-Wakeel, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nuclear
Power Plants Authority of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Rosatom helps boost the Uzbek nuclear power
industry
“We have
competencies in terms of science, and we have more than one academician who
grew up in Uzbekistan, nuclear physicists. There is a certain base; we have
come to this understanding. As for the small modular reactors we want to build,
we have looked at all world practice. Yes, this is now a very topical and
rapidly developing area offering great prospects for us. And we have realized
clearly that Rosatom offers the best technology in this context, so we are now
very actively developing and working in this direction,” Azim Akhmedkhadzhaev,
Director of the Agency for Development of Nuclear Energy under the Ministry of
Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
PROBLEMS
Localization of nuclear projects is hampered by strict licensing and
safety requirements
“Moving on
to the material part, to the stage of creating a nuclear facility, we are
trying to localize this work as much as possible among local companies and
specialists. Here we have representatives from Egypt, Hungary and the Republic
of Turkey, where we are actively building nuclear power plants. And they won't
let me lie, we always say: accept as much localization as you can.
Understandably, on the one condition that the supplier must be competent,
professional and have gone through all the relevant licensing procedures in
terms of nuclear safety with its regulator and with the Russian supplier. Yet, in
this sense, we do not have any upper limit of localization. We only have restrictions
on the lower limit. Not less than 20%, not less than 25%. We always reach this
lower level with a big margin,” Alexey Likhachev, Director
General, State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM.
Shortage of fuel for energy in northern regions
"Given
the large number of hard-to-reach remote settlements, including in the northern
areas where people live, with a very complicated diesel fuel delivery system,
we have now brought in fuel we will use in the winter of 2026–2027. We have to
create reserves for such a time ahead because we have extremely complicated
transport logistics,” Aysen Nikolayev, Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
The underdeveloped energy system in African countries
“Mali does
not have a highly developed energy sector. There are currently a lot of
difficulties in manufacturing, transportation and energy. And today we have a
huge potential. Indeed, Mali has a lot of difficulties with energy production,
with energy transmission. And, in this sense, we are facing great challenges
for our industry, among other things,” Alousseni Sanou, Minister for the Economy
and Finance of the Republic of Mali.
SOLUTIONS
Renewable energy and small modular reactors as a response to the climate
challenge
“In order
to meet all our industry and people’s development needs for creating additional
new jobs, we can channel 80% of the gas we use into the value-added industrial
development programme and develop our gas chemical industry. So, we started to
analyze and develop our new energy mix, supplementing it with renewable energy
sources. By 2030, the share of renewable energy sources will be about 30%. All
of this needs to be balanced somehow right now,” Azim Akhmedkhadzhaev, Director
of the Agency for Development of Nuclear Energy under the Ministry of Energy of
the Republic of Uzbekistan.
“We believe
that, without changing the approach or expanding measures to reduce emissions,
it is impossible to achieve the goals. Otherwise, all countries will have to
seek cheap financing from the West, which means financial enslavement, and no
one will give money to support someone else's technology," Pavel Sorokin,
First Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation.
Developing nuclear power is a solution for local and regional power
systems
“Yakutia is
one of Russia's fastest growing regions today. We are number one in the world in
diamond mining and second in the country in terms of gold mining; we produce 50
tonnes of gold and 40 million tonnes of coal, ranking third nationwide, and we
also produce 20 million tonnes of oil and 20 billion cubic metres of gas. In
order to develop further, we naturally need, once again, a reliable, very clear
power supply system. And from this point of view, the low capacity nuclear
power plant project is our salvation. Salvation and precisely the opportunity
to develop these projects,” Aysen Nikolayev, Head of the Republic of Sakha
(Yakutia).
“Mali has
enormous resources for developing industry. It is a natural resource, very
valuable, including hydrocarbons that can be extracted, gas that is essential
for development of our industry,” Alousseni Sanou, Minister of Economy and
Finance of the Republic of Mali.
* This is a
translation of material that was originally generated in Russian using
artificial intelligence.
For more
information, visit the Roscongress Foundation’s Information and Analytical
System at roscongress.org.
