British News Agency

The plan is for the replacement of the first used nuclear fuel with fresh fuel at Akademik Lomonosov to commence by 2024. TVEL's Machinery Manufacturing Plant (MSZ) in the Moscow Region's Elektrostal city produces fuel not only for the floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov but also for all of Russia's nuclear icebreakers.

The world's only floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov is equipped with two KLT-40S-type reactors typical of icebreakers. Unlike standard land-based large reactors where partial replacement of fuel rods is required every 12 to 18 months, the fuel supply for these reactors is done every few years through complete unloading of the reactor core and loading fresh fuel.

The cores of the KLT-40 reactors of the floating power unit Akademik Lomonosov offer a range of advantages compared to reference reactors. These advantages include extending the time between fuel supplies to 3 to 3.5 years, thanks to the cassette-type core used for the first time, and reducing the fuel component cost by one and a half times. The operational experience of the floating nuclear power plant forms the basis for the reactor designs of the latest series of 22220 nuclear icebreakers. So far, three icebreakers of this kind have been launched into water.