Baltiysky Zavod shipyard starts harbor tests of world’s first floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov (photo)
Alexei Kadilov, Director General of Baltiysky Zavod - Sudostroyeniye LLC (United Shipbuilding Corporation), and Sergei Zavyalov, head of Rosenergoatom’s Board on Construction and Operation of Floating Nuclear Power Plants, have signed an order on the beginning of harbor tests for the world’s first floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov. According to the construction schedule, the tests start on July 1, 2016, says Baltiysky Zavod shipyard.
The purpose of the tests is to check performance of the FNPP (Project 20870) and compliance of its equipment and systems with the design parameters.
Upon completion of the tests scheduled for October 30, 2017, FNPP Akademik Lomonosov will leave the shipyard as a completed facility and will be delivered along the Northern Sea Route to its place of operation and connected to the onshore infrastructure being developed at port Pevek (Chukotka). Rosenergoatom is going to start placing the FNPP in September 2019. The tests and commissioning of the Akademik Lomonosov are also scheduled for autumn 2019.
The floating power unit Akademik Lomonosov of Project 20870 is to operate as a part of floating nuclear power plant equipped with reactor units КЛТ-40С able to produce up to 70 MW of electric energy and 50 Gcal/hr of thermal energy under rated operating conditions which is enough for supply of a town with over 200,000 of population.
The floating power units are intended for operation in the Far North and the Far East regions. The Akademik Lomonosov will operate at port Pevek (Chukotka). It is a unique and the world’s first project of a mobile low power unit.
Its main purpose of the project is to supply power to large industrial enterprises, port cities as well as offshore gas and oil platforms.
Floating power unit with displacement of 21,500 t can also be used as a water softener. It can produce 240,000 cbm of water per day. The unit’s design lifetime is 35-40 years with reactors to be refueled every 2.5 - 3 years. The crew numbers about 70 persons.
The floating nuclear power plant is overdesigned to meet all the possible risks and ensure the reactors’ unvulnerability in case of tsunami and other disasters. Nuclear processes comply with all the requirements of International Atomic Energy Agency and present no risks for the environment.
Baltiysky Zavod OJSC (Saint-Petersburg) specializes in construction of rank 1 surface-crafts, ice class vessels with nuclear and diesel-electric propulsion plants, nuclear floating energy units, floating distilling plants.
The shipyard was set up in 1856. In its history Baltiysky Zavod which had built over 600 ships and vessels and was privatized several times and returned to state control when financial problems arose. In late 2011, the shipyard once more fell under the control of the state represented by the United Shipbuilding Corporation. To preserve the staff and the competence of the shipyard, USC founded Baltiysky Zavod – Sudostroyeniye LLC. The Company’s staff currently numbers 4,000 employees.
The backlog of orders of Baltiysky Zavod-Sudostroyeniye LLC is currently valued at about RUB 150 bln. The largest orders are: three 60-MWt nuclear icebreakers, 25-MWt diesel-electric icebreaker, floating power unit of the world’s first floating nuclear heat and power plant, engineering products. In 2015, the Company’s revenue totaled RUB 11.857 mln, net profit – RUB 1.229 mln, current assets – RUB 62.736 bln.
United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC OJSC) is the largest shipbuilding company in Russia. It was set up in 2007 with 100% federal ownership. The holding comprises 60 companies and organizations (major shipbuilding and shiprepairing companies as well as leading design bureaus). Currently, USC consolidates about 80% of the domestic shipbuilding complex. The Russian market is the main focus of the state corporation though it also exports its products to 20 countries worldwide.
The customer of the pilot FNPP is a dedicated branch of Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC.
The Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC comprises all 10 nuclear power plants in Russia bearing the Concern affiliate status, as well as the enterprises catering for the generating company’s operations. There are 35 power blocks being used at the 10 nuclear power plants: 18 of them having VVER-type reactor units (12 VVER-1000 power blocks and 6 VVER-440 blocks of different modifications); 15 of them having channel-type reactors (11 power blocks with RBMK-1000 reactors and 4 blocks with EGP-6 reactors); 2 power blocks with BN-600 and BN-800 sodium-cooled fast reactors.
