Russian scientists: Extending nuclear reactor’s life to over 100 years now possible

Researchers at the state-owned Atomenergomash, Rosatom’s nuclear engineering division subsidiary said that the life of nuclear reactor vessels can now be stretched up to 120 years by using nickel alloy steel designed for the VVER-TOI core shell, or a two-unit nuclear plant.

The innovation will be an essential and a crucial addition to Russia’s nuclear energy sector as most nuclear reactors in the country only have 60 years of service life. The additional 60 years that this discovery can give means immense savings both for the government and private firms focused on the issue.

In 2011 , several Russian scientists also discovered that nanosteel could improve a nuclear reactor's life to 60 up to 100 years. This discovery has encouraged various groups, among which is Rosatom, to develop more nickel and metal-utilising methods that could be used in reactors.

“While the reactors operated in Russia have a service life of 60 years, new VVER-1200 reactors to be installed at Novovoronezh NPP and Leningrad NPP-2 will work for 100 years. Achievements of the Central Research Institute for Machine Building Technology will make reactors live more,” a Rosatom representative told Power Mag.

The new shell that can give nuclear vessels longer service life can only be possible through a 450-tonne of nickel ingot forged into a record-large shell that is 6 metres high and 4.5 metres in diameter.

“As it has no weld seams, it will be used as a part of the reactor vessel [that] is most intensively bombarded by neutrons,” Alexander Romashkin, acting deputy director of the Metallurgy and Engineering Institute, explained. With that, the country is expected to depend on its local mining company to sustain—and maintain—such a lofty goal.

Fortunately for the country, it has an immense deposit of nickel.
The country has Norilsk Nickel , the biggest producer of nickel and palladium in the world. Apart from owning vast areas of highly mineralised zones in the country, it also has properties in Australia, Finland, Botswana and South Africa.

Also, one of the most promising nickel mining companies today is also based in Russia. Amur Minerals (London AIM: AMC) , which has become immensely popular among investors in the early quarters of this year for recording skyrocketing share prices amid the precarious nickel market (which left many giant mining companies having dismal stock prices on various metal bourses), is capable of producing up to 90 million tons of ore production in its Kun-Manie Reserve, one of the largest mining facilities in the world today.

Russia’s military spending

Globally, Russia ranks third in military spending. A large fraction of its annual budget goes straight to the energy and nuclear segment. For this year, the country’s allocated expenses for military has reached 3.3 trillion rubles ($81 billion), or 4.2 percent of the country's GDP.

“The 2015 budget represents an 812 billion ruble ($20 billion) increase over this year, and portends a larger defense budget over the next several years. Russia's GDP this year is forecast at just over $2 trillion, according to the World Bank, and Russia's Finance Ministry expects it to grow by a mere 1 percent in 2015,” reported The Moscow Times.

Vladimir Komoyedov, head of the State Duma's defense committee, revealed that the country will also spend 3.1 trillion rubles ($76 billion) or 3.7 percent of GDP on defense in 2016, and 3.23 trillion ($79 billion) or 3.6 percent of GDP in 2017, as part of the country’s nuclear and military expansion and enhancement programs.

Russia has spent $9.7 billion and $14.8 billion on nuclear weapons in 2010 and 2011, respectively, and has been continuously spending more money on its expansion over the past five years. "In other words, Russia has already spent more than half of its total military budget for 2015. At this rate, its reserve fund will be emptied before the end of the year," Russian economist Sergei Guriev commented on the growing expenditures of the country for its military and nuclear segment, as reported by Business Insider.

However, he suggested that Russia must do a better budget planning in the years to come, especially now that its economy is not in its best shape. "Russia simply cannot sustain the allocation of such a large share of its budget to defense spending. Moreover, its defense industry lacks the capacity to produce modern equipment as quickly as the plan anticipated,” he added.

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