Moscow, September 28: Russia has completed the second RITM-200S reactor that will form part of a new floating nuclear power unit designed to supply electricity to a major copper mining project in the country’s Arctic Far East.
Technicians at the ZiO-Podolsk plant near Moscow completed the reactor and successfully carried out high pressure water tests according to the report. A trial assembly was also conducted to verify that the components matched the project designs.
The reactor will be installed aboard the floating power unit known as PEB-106 which will use two RITM-200S reactors. The first reactor was completed in May and is currently at a shipyard awaiting installation.
The RITM-200 technology was originally developed for Russia’s modern nuclear powered icebreakers. The reactor is around one and a half times more compact than earlier Soviet designs while providing increased power output making it suitable for applications where space and weight are important considerations.
Eight RITM reactors are already operating on modern Russian nuclear icebreakers including the Arktika and Ural.
The floating power concept is intended to address the energy challenges of remote Arctic industrial operations where conventional electricity infrastructure can be difficult to build and maintain. The new plant is designed to provide a continuous power supply for heavy mineral extraction.
Russia previously demonstrated the use of floating nuclear power technology with the Akademik Lomonosov which has supplied electricity to the Chukotka region since 2020.
PEB-106 is being developed as a specialised offshore nuclear power unit for the mining sector. Its deployment is expected to demonstrate how compact nuclear reactors can be adapted for industrial facilities located far from established power grids.
The project is also part of a wider Russian effort to expand production of RITM series small modular reactors. According to the report, 16 RITM reactors have so far left assembly lines while another 12 are in various stages of production.
The manufacturing process involves several facilities, with heavy steel components produced in St. Petersburg engineering and reactor systems developed in Nizhny Novgorod, and pressure vessels and final testing carried out at the ZiO Podolsk plant.
Russia is also promoting floating nuclear power technology for potential use at isolated ports, islands and coastal industrial facilities in other countries. Rosatom has presented several floating reactor concepts designed for different climatic conditions, including polar and tropical environments.