Chepetsky Mechanical Plant has launched serial production of seamless hexagonal zirconium tubes for small modular reactors. The new products are intended for the core of land-based NPPs with the RITM-200N reactor, which will form the basis of Rosatom's small nuclear generation projects.
The new products were developed specifically for the land-based version of the RITM-200N reactor. This reactor is based on the RITM-200 marine installation, which is already operating on Project 22220 nuclear icebreakers. For the land-based modification, engineers needed to increase the core parameters and maintain strict requirements for the geometry, straightness, and surface quality of the tubes.
The thermal power of RITM-200N will be 190 MW compared to 175 MW for the marine version of the reactor. The first batch of tubes has already been manufactured, and the enterprise expects to significantly increase production volumes for the small NPP segment in the future.
Small nuclear power plants are considered one of the key areas of energy development for remote territories. These reactors take up less space, are built faster, and can generate both electricity and heat simultaneously.
