Sochi, Russia (The Hawk): Over the next two to three decades, a top corporate executive at Russia's integrated nuclear power giant Rosatom predicted that a number of new clients will join the firm's clientele.
Speaking at the international nuclear power industry exhibition-cum-conference here, Director General Alexey Likhachev predicted that new members of the "nuclear club," such as Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, would experience the greatest growth in the company's portfolio over the next 20 to 30 years.
Several African nations, according to Likhachev, have already finalised their first agreements with Rosatom and are planning their subsequent projects.
He continued by saying that small nuclear power plant technology will advance over the next 10 to 15 years with the development of generation 3+ power units.
The operation of thermal and fast reactors simultaneously with a closed nuclear fuel cycle will then resolve the transition to a dual-component nuclear power system by the middle of the 2050s.
He added that thermonuclear fusion technology will be relied upon throughout the long run, or at least for the next 50 years.
11 power plants have been constructed by Rosatom in Russia and overseas in the fifteen years since its founding. It has already negotiated intergovernmental agreements for 34 power units while constructing 23 power units overseas in eight different nations.
One of the nations for which Rosatom has contracted to provide six 1,000 MW nuclear power stations, of which two are operational and four are in the building phase, is India.
Hungary is developing a practical and well-thought-out energy strategy, according to Peter Szijjarto, the country's minister of foreign trade and affairs. This strategy will not only enable Hungary to expand its nuclear industry and gain more control over energy prices, but will also enable it to lower its carbon footprint.
The second nuclear power unit is anticipated to go online shortly, according to Belarusian Energy Minister Viktor Karankevich, which will lower CO2 emissions.
He said that the nation would increase its cooperation with Rosatom in the areas of processing spent fuel, providing scientific and technical support for operating nuclear power plants, and human resource training.
Ney Zanella dos Santos, CEO of Brazil's ENBPar Corporation, also spoke on the possibility for small modular nuclear reactors in isolated parts of his country as well as the development of a new nuclear power plant resembling the Angra facility in the country's north.
In Brazil, there are presently two operational nuclear power plants, and a third is scheduled to start up in 2027. Over the next 30 years, he said, Brazil plans to increase its nuclear capacity by a total of 10 GW.
(Inputs from Agencies)