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Russia Completes Qualification Tests of ITER First Wall Tungsten Lining, Advancing Development of Key Components for International Thermonuclear Fusion

The Efremov Institute of Electrophysical Apparatus (NIIEFA), a subsidiary of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, recently successfully completed the qualification testing phase of tungsten materials for the first wall lining of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). This testing aimed to verify the feasibility of the selected technical solution. The expert team completed vacuum rapid brazing of the tungsten lining, robotic ultrasonic inspection, and rigorous thermal cycling tests, laying a solid foundation for subsequent mass production of key components. As the physical boundary between the scorching plasma and the main reactor equipment in a tokamak device, the first wall lining must protect the equipment from high-energy particle bombardment while...

2026-10-10

Global Major SMR Project Progress Review

As of now, global SMR competition has already formed several different tiers: Linglong One is advancing pre-operational testing, Darlington and Russia's land-based projects have entered the construction phase, Clinch River has just crossed the threshold for a U.S. commercial SMR construction permit, Long Mott is still under licensing review, and representative projects in the UK and South Korea are mainly advancing design and regulatory approval. In subsequent comparisons of these projects, the most valuable indicators will be first fuel load, first criticality, first grid connection, commercial operation, and whether construction can be replicated after the first-of-a-kind unit. Project progress: China's Linglong One is one of the more advanced projects among land-based SMR commercial demonstration projects. In December 2025, the project completed non-nuclear steam testing, verifying the functions of conventional island-related systems; public information in early 2026 shows that the project is still conducting pre-operational testing. The project adopts a 125 MWe pressurized water reactor design, mainly targeting applications such as power generation, heating, industrial steam, and seawater desalination.

2026-10-09

Large-Scale Nuclear Emergency Exercise Held at Russia's Beloyarsk NPP: Simulating Response to Concurrent Dual-Reactor Accident

The Beloyarsk NPP in Russia's Sverdlovsk Region launched a two-day comprehensive nuclear emergency exercise on October 6, 2026. The exercise is based on a hypothetical scenario of a natural disaster compounded by a reactor safety system failure, with a focus on emergency response and cross-departmental coordinated handling capabilities when two nuclear reactors experience severe accidents simultaneously. The exercise is being conducted simultaneously at the Beloyarsk NPP site and the neighboring city of Zarechny, and is the largest annual comprehensive nuclear emergency drill in the Russian nuclear industry system and the Ural Federal District. Beloy...

2026-10-08

Rosatom Completes Installation of Two Moisture Separator Reheaters for the Conventional Island of the BREST-OD-300 Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor

Rosatom announced on October 7, 2026 that at the construction site of the innovative BREST-OD-300 nuclear power unit in Seversk, Tomsk Oblast, a key milestone breakthrough has been achieved in the installation of core main equipment in the conventional island (turbine island) building, with two large moisture separator reheaters (MSR) successfully hoisted into their design-basis positions. The two moisture separator reheaters installed this time are core large heat exchange equipment of the conventional island of a dual-loop nuclear power plant, each with a height of 16 meters and a net weight of 95 tons. The core function of this equipment is to...

2026-10-08

Russia's Kurchatov Institute to Receive 5.7 Billion Rubles in Fiscal Budget Support: Focusing on Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion and Advanced Plasma Technology R&D

The National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute" will receive approximately 5.7 billion Rubles in dedicated funding support from the Russian federal budget during the period from 2027 to 2029. This fiscal allocation will be specifically used to advance key technology breakthroughs in Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion, as well as the R&D and experimental validation of innovative Plasma Technologies. The above funding plan is explicitly stated in the draft explanatory document of the 2027–2029 federal budget bill published in the electronic database of the Russian State Duma...

2026-10-03

Rosatom Proposes New VVER-1000 Nuclear Power Unit to Armenia

Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom, recently stated in Yerevan that the company has submitted specific proposals to the Armenian government for the construction of a gigawatt-class VVER-1000 nuclear power unit. The proposal is based on an assessment of Armenia's electricity demand through 2040 and plans to adopt Russia's mature pressurized water reactor technology, the VVER-1000, which features Generation 3+ safety systems and competitive electricity pricing advantages, and has already been built and commissioned in Russia, India, Iran, and other countries. The Russian side calls this option the optimal choice for the international market and is willing to develop the project into a comprehensive cooperation project attracting international suppliers. Previously, Likhachev held talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and...

2026-10-03

Rosatom Establishes Third Base Laboratory in Seversk to Cultivate Fourth-Generation Nuclear Power Engineering Talent Through Targeted Training

In the closed administrative-territorial formation of Seversk (ZATO Seversk) in Tomsk Oblast, Russia, Rosatom has officially established and commissioned its third industry Base Laboratory under the framework of the national science and technology leadership project "New Nuclear and Energy Technologies" (Новые атомные и энергетические технологии). The laboratory focuses on fourth-generation nuclear power engineering practice, aiming to provide systematic advanced talent reserves for Russia's and the world's first "reactor + closed nuclear fuel cycle" demonstration facility. The co-construction cooperation agreement for this Base Laboratory was signed by Ros...

2026-09-27

Rosatom has developed the first batch of nuclear fuel assemblies for the MBIR multi-purpose fast reactor, successfully passing factory acceptance testing

At the site of the Fuel Technology Division of the State Scientific Center — Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (NIIAR, Dimitrovgrad), under the Scientific Division of Rosatom, the first batch of 3 pilot nuclear fuel assemblies (Fuel assemblies / ТВС) for the multi-purpose sodium-cooled fast neutron research reactor (MBIR) successfully completed comprehensive factory acceptance tests. The professional acceptance committee conducted a thorough review of the maturity and completeness of the fuel production process line for this batch as well as all technical performance parameters of the trial-manufactured assemblies, and completed high-precision geometric dimension and quality re-verification measurements item by item. This acceptance review brought together the expertise of multiple core research and manufacturing institutions in the Russian nuclear industry, including the Dollezhal Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering (NIKIET), the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE), and the Machine-Building Plant Joint Stock Company (MSZ, Elemash).

2026-09-27

Unit 4 of Russia's Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant Shut Down for Planned Major Overhaul

On September 26, 2026, Unit 4 of the Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant, which is part of the Electric Power Division of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, was formally disconnected from the grid and entered the stage of preventive major overhaul and modernization upgrade in accordance with the established approved plan. Conducting preventive maintenance on a regular basis is a core routine measure for Russian nuclear power plants to maintain a high level of safety margin for equipment and ensure continuous and stable power grid supply. Alexey Portnov, Head of the Maintenance Management Department of the Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant, stated that as a key battle in the final stage of the plant's 2026 major overhaul, this overhaul round has planned multiple major equipment upgrade projects, with key scope covering the comprehensive replacement of valves and piping components in the spray pond, as well as the comprehensive replacement of the original lens-type expansion joints with new bellows expansion joints in the service water system, thereby enhancing the system's pressure-bearing capacity and fatigue resistance life.

2026-09-27

Afrikantov Experimental Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering Completes Manufacture and Delivery of MBIR Fast Reactor Primary Coolant Circulation Pumps

The machine-building division of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation (Госкорпорация «Росатом» / Rosatom), Afrikantov Experimental Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering (АО «ОКБМ Африкантов» / OKBM Afrikantov), has completed the manufacture and delivery of the primary coolant circulation pumps (Главные циркуляционные насосы, ГЦН) for the multi-purpose fast neutron research reactor (МБИР / MBIR). As core equipment of the reactor facility, these circulation pumps will be responsible for driving the coolant to circulate within the reactor core...

2026-09-24

Unit 2 of Leningrad NPP-2 with a VVER-1200 reactor has been taken out of service as planned for a mid-term major overhaul

At 00:30 Moscow time on September 21, 2026, Unit 2 of Leningrad NPP-2 (Ленинградская АЭС-2 / Leningrad NPP-2) with a VVER-1200 (ВВЭР-1200) reactor was formally disconnected from the grid and entered a planned mid-term major overhaul (Плановый средний ремонт) in accordance with established approval procedures and the maintenance schedule of the Russian Power and Energy Group's Rosenergoatom Concern (АО «Концерн Росэнергоатом» / Rosenergoatom). The overhaul program covers hundreds of individual works, with a focus on the reactor and...

2026-09-24

Rosatom's Podolsk Machine-Building Plant Completes Manufacture of the Second RITM-200S Reactor for the First PEB-106 Floating Nuclear Power Plant

The Moscow Region enterprise Podolsk Machine-Building Plant (PAO ZiO-Podolsk), part of the mechanical engineering division of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom (Госкорпорация «Росатом» / Rosatom), has successfully manufactured the second RITM-200S (РИТМ-200С) reactor unit. This reactor will be installed on the PEB-106 (ПЭБ-106) floating nuclear power unit, designed specifically to ensure power supply for the large copper mining industrial cluster in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (Чукотский автономный округ / Chukotka Autonomous Okrug). The equipment has successfully passed hydraulic tests (Гидравлические испытания) confirming its structural strength, and a full-scale trial assembly (Контрольная сборка) verified absolute conformity of components with the design drawings.

2026-09-24

Balakovo NPP in Russia Conducts Steam Generator O&M Experience Exchange and Technical Support

Recently, at the Balakovo NPP in Saratov Oblast, Russia, a peer support mission focused on steam generator (Steam Generators / Парогенераторы) O&M technology and experience was successfully held. This event was a routine technical exchange organized by the WANO Moscow Centre (WANO-MC / ВАО АЭС-МЦ), aimed at bringing together industry expertise from multiple parties to further enhance the safety and reliability of nuclear power unit operation. The team participating in this support mission was composed of technical backbone personnel from multiple industry organizations and nuclear power plants, including the World Association of Nuclear...

2026-09-24

Modernization of the hydraulic blade stamping equipment for nuclear power plants at the Russian "Atom Machine" plant has been completed

On September 21, 2026, according to project information released by the Russian "Atom Machine" (Atom Machine, part of the Mechanical Engineering Division of the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation "Rosatom"), the plant located in Volgodonsk (Волгодонск), Rostov Oblast, announced that its hydraulic blade stamping equipment for nuclear power plants, which is unique to date and has no equivalent in Russia, has completed modernization and successfully passed testing. It is understood that this hydraulic press with a force of up to 15,000 tonnes has now successfully passed all tests and is fully ready for production. This equipment was originally put into operation in 1980. In this modernization project, engineers not only...

2026-09-22

Drone Attack on Cooling Tower at Russia's Kursk Nuclear Power Plant

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced on Friday that it has confirmed a drone attack on a cooling tower at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in western Russia. The incident occurred on September 18, when the reactor was operating, but no fire broke out and the operational status was unaffected. Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear energy corporation, stated in a statement that the attack caused minor damage to the plant's Reactor No. 1, but operations were not affected. The IAEA has received relevant information and is investigating the incident. Based on the investigation results, the agency will take necessary measures to ensure the safe operation of the nuclear power plant....

2026-09-20