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Obninsk Plant Added Greatly to Russia's Global Leadership in Nuclear Technology – Expert

13:45 GMT, 27 June 2024
© Sputnik / Pavel Bykov
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Oleg Burunov
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The Obninsk nuclear facility, which was commissioned on June 26, 1954, featured one 5 mWt reactor to generate electricity and facilitate experimental atomic research.
Sputnik
The 1954 launch of Russia's Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant "actually heralded the creation of a new industry in the Soviet Union," Alexey Anpilogov, political scientist and nuclear energy expert, told Sputnik, commenting on the 70th anniversary of the world’s first nuclear power station being put into operation in the city of Obninsk, about 100 kilometers from the capital Moscow.

The pundit praised "the genius of Soviet academics Igor Kurchatov and Nikolay Dollezhal, who came to realize the fact that their experiment to create a reactor for producing weapons-grade plutonium could be used for peaceful purposes and in the peacetime economy."

The USSR consistently followed the path of testing more innovations, which added greatly to Russia’s current leading role in exporting nuclear energy across the globe, according to Anpilogov.

"It’s safe to say the Russian nuclear program stands on the shoulders of the Soviet ‘peaceful atom’ program, already moving well ahead of it," he pointed out.

Russia's world leadership in nuclear technology is "simply undeniable now, especially against the backdrop of the closure of nuclear power plants in Germany, as well as a very difficult situation with the nuclear programs of Japan and the United States," the expert concluded.
When asked why Russia remains the country of choice in terms of exporting nuclear reactors, Anpilogov singled out "a whole array of parameters, including a rather reasonable price tag." Furthermore, these are reference reactors, namely, they are already operating in Russia, according to him.
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"We first check all the weak and strong points [of a reactor] at home, bring this project to perfection and only then offer it for export. Construction deadlines also matter, with [state nuclear corporation] Rosatom always adhering to them, which is not the case with French and US companies. Last but not least, what Rosatom is currently offering is, in fact, the leasing of nuclear power plants," the political scientist wrapped up.

The Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant was launched on June 26, 1954, in the territory of the Laboratory B, which subsequently turned into the Leypunsky Institute of Physics and Power Engineering, part of Rosatom's scientific division.
About three years after the launch, the Obninsk facility became a global symbol of the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The power plant remained in operation without a hitch for 48 years until it was decommissioned on April 29, 2002.
Russia remains the world’s leader in nuclear energy exports, which have grown by more than 20% in 2022, according to last year’s Bloomberg News findings. Rosatom supplies about a fifth of the enriched uranium needed to power 92 nuclear reactors in the US, while in Europe, utilities that generate electricity for 100 million people rely on Rosatom, per Bloomberg.
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