The World’s First Floating NPP: Origination and Direction of Future Development

The main stages of the origination (in our country) of the world’s first floating nuclear thermal power plant based on the floating power-generating unit Akademik Lomonosov with two icebreaker-type reactor installations whose chief designer and complete supplier is OKBM Afrikantov are presented. The operational model, the motivation for choosing the technical decisions, a brief description of the design and the main characteristics of the installation are presented and the plant’s safety features are shown. The directions for future development of floating nuclear power plants based on optimized Akademik Lomonosov power-generating units and in the form of autonomous self-propelled energy supply vessels are examined. A modernized variant of the reactor installation on commercial general-purpose nuclear icebreakers with an extended refueling period is used in these installations. The main dimensions of the vessels, technical characteristics, and conceptual models of use are presented. The large contribution made by OKBM Afrikantov employees in the origination of the new direction of development of nuclear energy is noted.