On the eve of their professional holiday – Nuclear Industry Workers’ Day – the steelworkers of AEM-Special Steels (Rosatom’s Machine Building Division) cast the “first” steel for the reactor vessel of the fourth unit of the El Dabaa NPP, which Rosatom is building in Egypt.
The metallurgists smelted 192 tons of metal, which will be used in the future to make a part of the latest Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactor. The operation was performed in a modern heavy-duty steelmaking furnace, which can melt 120 tons of metal in 2-3 hours. After casting, the metal was treated outside the furnace and then cooled in a vacuum chamber for two days to 550-650 degrees Celsius. To give the billet the desired shape and dimensions, the ingot is then transferred to the forging, pressing and mechanical-thermal shops.
The metallurgical plant also began to process metallurgical blanks for the RITM-200 reactor vessel used to generate small nuclear power. The reactor vessel of the universal nuclear icebreaker Leningrad of Project 22220, which was launched in January this year with the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, will be made of them. Three of the project’s icebreakers – Arktika, Sibir and Ural – have been successfully carrying caravans along the Northern Sea Route for several years.
“The pace of our metallurgists’ work is in line with Rosatom’s plans to build 39 units in 10 countries in the medium term, confirming its status as a world leader in the nuclear industry. Today, AEM-Special Steel has billets in operation that will be used to make VVER reactor vessels and primary circuit equipment for 13 NPP units abroad and five of the newest RITM-200 reactor units for the icebreaker fleet and small nuclear power plants,” said Igor Kotov, head of Rosatom’s Machine Building Division.
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AEM-Special Steel is the first link in Rosatom’s unified production and technology chain, supplying metal for all stages of the production of equipment for the nuclear power, fuel and energy complex and other industries. It is part of Rosatom’s Machine Building Division.
El Dabaa NPP – the first nuclear power plant in Egypt to be based on the latest Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactors of Russian design. Four units with reactors of this type have already been successfully operated in Russia (Novovoronezh and Leningrad NPPs) and two similar units outside the country at the Belarusian NPP. According to the contractual obligations, the Russian party will not only build the plant, but also supply Russian nuclear fuel for the entire life cycle of the nuclear power plant, as well as assist the Egyptian partners in training personnel and providing support in the operation and maintenance of the plant for the first 10 years of its operation.
The universal nuclear icebreaker Leningrad was launched at the end of January 2024 at the Baltiysky Zavod in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is the fifth series icebreaker in Project 22220, which nuclear icebreakers are designed to ensure safe navigation along the Northern Sea Route. To date, three icebreakers from this project have been commissioned and three more are under construction.
The RITM-200 reactor units, originally developed for the nuclear icebreaker fleet and having proven their efficiency in the conditions of the Far North, formed the basis of energy solutions – floating power units and small-capacity nuclear power plants capable of supplying electricity to remote areas in the country and abroad. As a result, a number of floating power units are being built to supply power to a large industrial consumer in Chukotka; a project to build the world’s first land-based nuclear power plant with a RITM-200 reactor unit is underway in Yakutia; and an agreement has been reached to build a small nuclear power plant with six reactors of the same type in Uzbekistan.
Russia emphasizes cooperation with friendly countries and consistently develops international trade and economic relations. The Russian economy is expanding its export potential as a supplier of goods, services and raw materials all over the world. Major international energy projects also continue to be implemented. Rosatom and its enterprises play an active role in helping to make this happen.
