Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Rosneft – Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The importance of nuclear energy, which is a natural complement to fossil fuels, is growing, said Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin at the Energy Panel at the XXVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
“Against the backdrop of growing consumption, all types of generation, including nuclear, are experiencing a rebirth. This is well illustrated by the price of uranium fuel, which has grown more than threefold over the past seven years,” noted Igor Sechin.
He recalled that the idea of thermonuclear fusion was formulated back in the 1930s, and many famous scientists, including Nobel laureates Hans Bethe, Pyotr Kapitsa, Igor Tamm and later Andrei Sakharov, sought to reproduce this process and control it. In theory, thermonuclear fusion is capable of generating almost four million times more energy than burning oil or coal, said Igor Sechin. However, to maintain a thermonuclear reaction and obtain sustainable energy, it is still necessary to improve the methods of plasma containment, ensuring its stability, and increasing efficiency.
The head of Rosneft noted that just a few years ago, nuclear energy was in a deep crisis due to a decline in activity in the industry, and such large companies as Westinghouse and Areva had to go through restructuring and change of ownership. However, the situation began to change. “Over the past 5 years, annual global investments in nuclear energy have increased by 50% and reached $70 billion last year. China is becoming one of the leaders in nuclear energy today. Over the past ten years, the installed capacity of nuclear generation in this country has increased fivefold and approached 60 GW. In the coming years, China plans to complete the construction of another 32 reactors,” he noted.
At the same time, Sechin called an important point the fact that China, in developing its nuclear industry, relies on the latest technological achievements of the leading nuclear powers – Russia, the USA and France, Sechin said.
He noted that Russia has many years of experience in building nuclear power plants. The cost of the most modern Russian reactor VVER-1200 is significantly lower than the American “AP-1000”. Today, such reactors are already operating in Russia and are planned for commissioning in friendly countries.
At the same time, Sechin noted, the availability of a resource base is of particular importance. Today, only seven countries, including the Russian Federation, control more than 90% of the world’s uranium fuel production and about 70% of the world’s uranium reserves.
“Today, Russia is the only country in the world that has expertise in the entire technological chain of the nuclear fuel cycle, from uranium mining to nuclear fuel disposal. In total, 80 nuclear reactors have been built in the world using Russian technologies,” he said.
Russia also has the world’s only floating low-power nuclear power plant. Four more nuclear power plants are currently under construction.
In our country, a sodium-cooled nuclear reactor belonging to the category of fast neutron reactors, BN-800, has been successfully operated for ten years already; another fast neutron reactor of the latest generation, BN-1200, is under construction.
“Reactors of this type incorporate the most advanced technical solutions, including the enlargement of fuel elements, the use of uranium-plutonium mixed fuel, as well as new structural steels with increased radiation protection, which ensure deeper fuel burnup and higher efficiency. In particular, the efficiency of electricity generation increases by 20-25%, even without taking into account the significantly higher efficiency of fuel use,” said the head of Rosneft.
According to the IEA forecast, by 2050 the installed capacity of nuclear generation in the world will grow by almost 60% and reach 650 GW. “I think this estimate is underestimated. Just a few weeks ago, the US President set a goal to increase the capacity of nuclear generation in this country fourfold to 400 GW,” Sechin noted.
The head of Rosneft expects further growth in investments in the nuclear sector: new technologies, such as small modular reactors, are attracting increased attention from investors today. Although such reactors are more mobile, their implementation also requires investments in the development of power grids. In addition, special attention should be paid to issues of their safety and security from terrorist threats.
“Recently, Rolls-Royce announced that it had won a tender to build such reactors in the UK. Experts note that these reactors have a number of features. One of them is described in Ecclesiastes: “What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is not can not be counted.” None of these reactors have yet been put into operation,” Sechin explained.
The proposed smaller reactors will require no less effort and expense, including fuel disposal and safety, than existing larger reactors.
“And finally, nuclear energy is, in any case, a dual-use technology. The issue of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons should be given the closest attention, because it is believed that it is precisely because of them that the Middle East conflict is currently escalating. It is necessary to understand whether we want further expansion of the nuclear club,” Igor Sechin concluded.
Department of Information and Advertising of PJSC NK Rosneft June 21, 2025
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