SMR Akademik Lomonosov is the floating power unit (FPU), based in Pevek, Chukotka (Russia's Far East). Its main task is to provide the remote industrial district with electric energy.
The floating nuclear power plant has two KLT-40S reactor units that can generate up to 70 MW of electric energy and 50 Gcal/hr of heat energy during its normal operation. This is enough to keep the activity of the town populated with 100,000 people.
The FNPP is designed with the great margin of safety that exceeds all possible threats and makes nuclear reactors invincible for tsunamis and other natural disasters. In addition, the nuclear processes at the floating power unit meet all requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and do not pose any threat to the environment.
The floating NPP project is one of the most promising branches of small nuclear power reactors on the market today. It is especially suited to very remote areas and island states that require stable, green sources of energy. So far, significant interest in Rosatom’s FNPP technology has come from the Middle East, North Africa, and South-East Asia. The reactors have the potential to work particularly well in regions with extended coastlines, power supply shortages, and limited access to electrical grids.
SMR is a technology for electricity supply of hard-to-reach areas, regardless of transport infrastructure, landscape, and cost of fuel delivery. Up to 40% of the cost of fossil fuel-based electricity generation is attributed to the price of coal, oil or gas, as well as to the cost of their delivery. This figure is even higher for especially remote locations. The small size, light weight, and fixed cost of the FNPP eliminate many such challenges. These small nuclear reactors can operate non-stop without the need for refuelling for three to five years, thereby considerably reducing the cost of electricity generation.
ROSATOM is currently working on second-generation FPUs, i.e. Optimized Floating Power Units (OFPUs), which will be built in a series and be available for export.