Page 14 - bne monthly magazine June 2024 Russian Despair Index

14 I Companies & Markets bne June 2024
GWe nuclear. The scheme envisaged decommissioning 67.7 GWe of capacity by 2030, including 16.5 GWe of nuclear plant.
Rosenergoatom is the sole nuclear utility, following consolida- tion in 2001. In 2009 nuclear production was 163.3 TWh (83.7 TWh from VVER, 79.6 TWh from RBMK and other). It then increased slowly to over 200 TWh in 2018. Before this, nuclear electricity output had risen strongly due simply to better performance of the nuclear plants, with capacity factors leap- ing from 56% to 76% 1998-2003 and then on to 80.2% in 2009. Rosenergoatom aimed for 90% capacity factor by 2015. In 2006 Rosatom announced a target of nuclear providing 23% of electricity by 2020 and 25% by 2030, but 2007 and 2009 plans approved by the government scaled this back significantly.
Rosatom's long-term strategy up to 2050 involves moving
to inherently safe nuclear plants using fast reactors with a closed fuel cycle, especially under the Proryv ('Breakthrough') project. It envisages nuclear providing 45-50% of electricity at that time, with the share rising to 70-80% by the end of
the century. The ultimate aim of the closed fuel cycle is to eliminate the production of radioactive waste from power generation.
Russia uses about 5500 tonnes of natural uranium per year and about 9% of the world’s deposits. The Federal Natural Resources Management Agency (Rosnedra) reported that Russian uranium reserves grew by 15% in 2009, particularly through exploration in the Urals and Kalmykia Republic, north of the Caspian Sea.
Uranium production has varied from 2870 to 3560 tU/yr since 2004, and in recent years has been supplemented by that from Uranium One Kazakh operations, giving 7629 tU in 2012. In 2006 there were three mining projects in Russia, since then others have been under construction and more projected.
Plans announced in 2006 for 28,600 t/yr U3O8 output by 2020, 18,000t of this from Russia and the balance from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia, though difficulties in starting new Siberian mines and the break with Ukraine makes the 18,000t target unlikely. Three uranium mining joint ventures were established in Kazakhstan with the intention of providing 6000 tU/yr for Russia from 2007: JV Karatau, JV Zarechnoye and JV Akbastau.
The Russian Federation’s main uranium deposits are in four districts:
• The Trans-Ural district in the Kurgan region between Chelyabinsk and Omsk, with the Dalur ISL mine.
• Streltsovskiy district in the Transbaikal or Chita region of SE Siberia near the Chinese and Mongolian borders, served by Krasnokamensk and with major underground mines.
• The Vitimsky district in Buryatia about 570 km northwest of Krasnokamensk, with the Khiagda ISL mine.
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• The more recently discovered remote Elkon district in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) some 1200 km north-northeast of the Chita region.
Russia's first nuclear power plant, and the first in the world to produce electricity in 1954, was the 5 MWe Obninsk reactor. Russia's first two commercial-scale nuclear power plants started up in 1963-64, then in 1971-73 the first of today's production models were commissioned. By the mid-1980s Russia had 25 power reactors in operation, but the nuclear industry was beset by problems. The Chernobyl accident led to a resolution of these problems and a new generation of much safer reactors, the pressurized water VVER reactors.
Kazakhstan has been an important source of uranium for more than 50 years and became the world's largest uranium producer in 2009. Annual production has increased from 2114 tU in 2001 to 24,689 tU in 2016, before decreasing slightly due to low uranium prices. In 2019 production was 22,808 tU, up 5% on the year before, but dropped to 19,477
tU in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Production in 2023 was 21,112 tU and National Atomic Company Kazatomprom Joint Stock Company (Kazatomprom) has said it expects 2024 production to be 21,000-22,500 tU.
“In July 2006 Russia and Kazakhstan (Kazatomprom) signed three 50:50 nuclear joint venture agreements totalling US$ 10 billion for new nuclear reactors, uranium production and enrichment.”
In July 2006 Russia and Kazakhstan (Kazatomprom) signed three 50:50 nuclear joint venture agreements totalling US$ 10 billion for new nuclear reactors, uranium production and enrichment. The first JV with Atomstroyexport is
JV Atomniye Stantsii for development and marketing of innovative small and medium-sized reactors, starting with OKBM's VBER-300 as baseline for Kazakh units. Russia's Atomstroyexport expected to build the initial one.
The second JV with Tenex, confirmed in 2008, is for extending a small uranium enrichment plant at Angarsk
in southern Siberia (this will also be the site of the first international enrichment centre, in which Kazatomprom has a 10% interest). It will eventually be capable of enriching the whole 6000 tonnes of uranium production from Russian mining JVs in Kazakhstan.
Enriching uranium
Most of the about 500 commercial nuclear power reactors operating or under construction in the world today require