ST. PETERSBURG, October 21. /TASS/. Rosatom is preparing a package of proposals for China featuring two main sections of cooperation in the nuclear fuel cycle and the construction of new power units, CEO of the state corporation Alexey Likhachev told reporters.
"We are currently forming a new package. It is obvious that this will be a subject matter of negotiations. Finalization won't happen today, but two large sections are visible in the package. The first one is the expansion of traditional cooperation in the nuclear fuel cycle," the chief executive said. "In my opinion, these agreements will be complemented by important decisions to continue the serial construction of Russian-designed units in the People's Republic of China," he noted.
An innovative direction is being added to these traditional areas: fourth-generation fast-neutron reactors, industrial energy complexes with a closed fuel cycle, and elements of fuel cycle closure, the chief executive stressed. "At the first stage, this means cooperation in scientific research. Here, we also expect to make great progress and reach new legally binding agreements," Likhachev added.
China, partly owing to Russian technologies also, is confidently stepping into second place globally in both installed nuclear capacity and generation, the Rosatom CEO said. Consequently, its demand for uranium raw materials and fuel is growing "exponentially," he added.
Five Russian-built units of the Tianwan nuclear power plant (NPP), specifically Units 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7, are already operating in China. "The launch of the eighth unit of the NPP is just around the corner. That will be the sixth accordingly. The launch of Unit 3 of the Russian-designed Xudapu NPP is the seventh and is also not far off. I am confident that the fourth Xudapu unit will also be commissioned into commercial operation within the next year," Likhachev said.