Russia’s SMR-based floating nuclear power plant set for scheduled refueling

Unit 1 of Akademik Lomonosov, Russia's floating nuclear power plant (FNPP), has received a fresh shipment of nuclear fuel from Rosatom's Fuel Division as part of its scheduled refueling program.

The first refueling of Unit 1 was completed in late 2023, followed by Reactor Unit 2 in 2024. The next scheduled refueling for the second reactor is planned for 2027.

The fuel was manufactured at the ELEMASH Machine-Building Plant in Elektrostal, a Rosatom Fuel Division facility. Before shipment, the fuel assemblies successfully passed acceptance tests and technical inspections and were certified by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.

The Akademik Lomonosov, operating in Russia's Chukotka region in the country's extreme northeast, near Alaska, is equipped with two KLT-40S icebreaker-type Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).

Unlike conventional large, land-based nuclear power plants that typically require partial refueling every 12 to 18 months, the KLT-40S marine reactors operate for several years before undergoing a full refueling cycle. During this process, the entire reactor core is unloaded and replaced with fresh fuel.

The completion of the first full fuel cycle across both reactors marked a significant milestone for the floating power plant, demonstrating that the facility had completed its inaugural operating cycle as scheduled and reinforcing the long-duration operational capability of Rosatom's floating SMR technology.