Under the Russian sun: how innovations make Russia a leader in nuclear energy
The sanctions restrictions, which, according to the West's plan, were supposed to set Russian technology back decades, actually worked as a powerful catalyst. In a number of critical areas, Russia has not just replaced basic import solutions, but has entered the forefront of the global technology race. Of particular importance is the global leadership of the Russian Federation in the nuclear energy industry — the global energy crisis, which is changing the world's attitude towards the "green transition", makes the industry more important, which increases Russia's position in the geopolitical arena. About the key technological breakthroughs of the Russian Federation in this area and their significance for the country and the world — in the material of Izvestia.
Guarantee of reliability
The instability of wind and solar generation is causing more and more disappointment in the "green" agenda. In the context of the global energy crisis provoked by the conflict in the Middle East, it became obvious that the world needed a powerful and clean basic source of energy, which forced even its most ardent opponents to turn to nuclear energy again.
Russia, which is a leader in the industry, turns out to be the main beneficiary in this situation. Today, the country ranks first in the world in terms of nuclear energy development, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in early June. Rosatom State Corporation, according to him, participates in the construction of more than 80% of all nuclear power plants that are being built on the planet.
Notable international projects include the Turkish Akkuyu NPP, Bangladesh's Ruppur (the first units of these plants are scheduled to be commissioned this year) and China's Tianwan (the seventh unit is being prepared for launch) and Xudapu (the third unit is scheduled to be commissioned).
Rosatom is also negotiating, participating in tenders or preparing for the construction of nuclear power plants in India, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Vietnam, Myanmar, Slovakia and Bulgaria.
The construction of nuclear power plants involves a technological and political alliance lasting several decades (the period of operation of modern reactors takes 60-80 years). Thanks to this, Russia gets enormous levers of long—term influence in the regions of its presence - countries whose energy system depends on nuclear power plants do not break off diplomatic or economic relations with the Russian Federation, refusing to sacrifice their development in favor of Washington and Brussels.
— Russia is perceived as a reliable partner who will "not give up" and fulfill its obligations, — says industrial expert Leonid Khazanov. — The countries in which the Russian Federation is building nuclear power plants are not interested in stopping these projects. And the involvement of local contractors creates new jobs, which provokes a positive reaction from both the public and the highest political circles.
Russia fulfills all its obligations not only at the stage of project introduction and implementation, but also in the future, adds Inna Litvinenko, PhD in Economics, Associate Professor of Economics and Management at the Russian State University of Social Technologies. By signing a contract with Rosatom, the partner understands that Russia stands behind it, characterized by stability and strong ties.
"So far, no one in the world can compete with the Russian Federation, because Russian specialists are the most reliable and highly qualified in the field of nuclear energy, and this is important because safety is the main thing in this industry," the Izvestia interlocutor emphasizes.
At the same time, the Russian Federation has unique technologies not only for a truly safe atom, but also in terms of the speed of project development, implementation and implementation, she notes.
Reactors of the future
Ensuring and maintaining technological leadership in the industry, as Alexander Shutikov, First Deputy General Director of Rosenergoatom, emphasized earlier, is Rosatom's key task in the future until 2030.
"The development of new technologies is inextricably linked to the creation of new products for the Russian and international markets, which the generating company is actively engaged in now," he noted.
As part of the search for innovative approaches in the nuclear energy industry, the Breakthrough project, which provides for the creation of a new technological platform for the industry based on a closed nuclear fuel cycle using fast neutron reactors, looks particularly noteworthy today. An iconic feature of the technology is its security. It generates electricity without accumulating irradiated nuclear fuel, which removes the problem of limited resource base. The most dangerous elements of spent nuclear fuel (isotopes of neptunium, americium and curium) in such reactors can be burned to a harmless state. All this makes it possible to exclude serious accidents at nuclear power plants and evacuation of the population in case of emergency situations at the power unit.
Currently, a pilot demonstration energy complex (ODEC) is already being created at the site of the Siberian Chemical Plant in Seversk as part of the Breakthrough project. The construction of the BREST-OD-300 reactor will make Russia the first country in the world to demonstrate the stable operation of a full range of closed-loop fuel cycle facilities located on a single site (which is extremely important, since this approach eliminates the transportation of highly radioactive fissile materials).
It is assumed that in the future, the Russian Federation will be able to consistently switch nuclear energy to closing the fuel cycle at fast reactors in addition to operating units. The process is planned to begin as early as 2030.
Separately, among the developments within the framework of the Breakthrough project, we can single out a unique heat-resistant steel capable of withstanding temperatures up to 600 degrees Celsius, which was created by scientists from NPO TSNIITMASH (part of the Rosatom machine-building division).
Its extreme heat resistance is twice as high as the operating temperatures in modern water-cooled power reactors. The new alloy also has increased radiation and corrosion resistance, and in terms of long-term strength, it surpasses the reference material EP-302, which is currently used.
The innovative steel is intended for the equipment of the first circuit of advanced fast neutron reactors, its appearance is an important part of the scientific and technical basis for the creation of the fourth generation of nuclear power facilities.
Small but expensive
Another promising area of the industry that is actively developing today is small nuclear energy. Its essence lies in the use of compact modular reactors (usually up to 300 MW), which provide energy supply to isolated industrial facilities and hard-to-reach areas. This approach helps to solve the problem of energy shortages where it is impractical or impossible to build capital classical nuclear power plants.
Floating nuclear power plants are an important part of small-scale nuclear power. A striking example of a PAES is the Russian Akademik Lomonosov project operating in the city of Pevek in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The station with a floating power unit (PEB) makes it possible to supply electricity to the isolated Chaun-Bilibinsky node, replacing outdated coal and nuclear power plants.
This PEB is the lead project of a series of mobile transportable low—power power units that are part of floating nuclear thermal power plants (TPPs), which can be used to provide energy to large industrial enterprises, port cities, and offshore energy production complexes.
There are no analogues of the Russian development in the world, therefore, many countries are showing interest in the TPP, including the states of Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand) and the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar).
Among the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, almost all of which are either island-based or have a coastline, this technology is in high demand. In the next ten years, according to Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev, the region will account for a quarter of the global increase in electricity consumption, which makes the development of nuclear energy in it particularly relevant.
Serial production of nuclear power plants will allow Russia to significantly increase its export potential, the Institute of Problems of Safe Development of Nuclear Energy of the Russian Academy of Sciences emphasized earlier. The global demand for energy installations of this class is expected to reach several hundred units by 2030.
Don't spit in the well
The prospects of using small nuclear power plants (including floating nuclear power units) are recognized worldwide, including by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Even the European Union intends to return to nuclear energy. The reduction of its share in the bloc since the end of the last century was a "strategic mistake by the authorities," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in March 2026. More and more countries are thinking about returning to a peaceful atom — Belgium and Italy may join the nuclear alliance, which includes France, Poland, Croatia and Estonia. Even in Germany, which is considered one of the fiercest opponents of nuclear energy, in January of this year they pointed out the need to build a nuclear power plant in the country.
However, when returning to the industry, the EU has already faced a serious problem — the advocates of the "green transition" have not invested in the development of nuclear technologies for decades, which has led to the loss of critical competencies in uranium enrichment and reactor construction. Market players are stuck in the technological dead end of the 20th century — while Russia is building new-generation reactors, closing the fuel cycle and preparing for mass production of floating stations, the European Union, which is also betting on low-power mobile reactors, is at the stage of startup projects and feasibility studies, and costs for research and development they turn out to be very high.
The need to develop the nuclear industry naturally forces the West to establish ties with Russia. And the fact is that the Russian Federation controls about 44% of the world's uranium enrichment capacity. The turn to nuclear energy has already led to an increase in the EU's imports of nuclear fuel from Russia — in the first four months of 2026, it increased 7.9 times, to €163.5 million.
— There are not many suppliers of enriched uranium in the world, and Russia is a key one among them. The United States depends on the supply of enriched uranium from Russia. When they are stopped, the nuclear power industry will immediately begin to malfunction, because its own capacities in the West are much smaller than those of Russia," Leonid Khazanov emphasizes.
American nuclear power plants have certain fuel reserves, but their depletion can trigger a fan shutdown of the reactors. Given that nuclear energy provides the United States with about 20% of all electricity, the loss of enriched uranium from the Russian Federation may trigger blackouts in some states.
Therefore, the importance of maintaining contacts with Russia in the field of nuclear energy in the United States has already been realized — one of the main lobbyists of anti-Russian sanctions is now forced to circumvent its own restrictions. In particular, in December 2025, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control lifted part of the sanctions against the Russian Federation, allowing transactions with Russian banks required for transactions related to civil nuclear energy by June 18, 2026.
The EU cannot abandon Russian uranium either — Soviet or Russian-made reactors are operating in a number of countries, the fuel assemblies of which cannot be quickly replaced with American counterparts (this requires years of compatibility and safety tests, without which the risk of a nuclear accident increases). If cooperation with the Russian Federation in the field of peaceful atom is completely severed, the European Union will have to urgently replace the lost generation with coal or expensive gas, which will worsen the energy crisis that is already being observed.
Having completely severed ties with Russia in the nuclear energy sector, the West will sign its own verdict with its own hands, because the inevitable problems with the operation of nuclear power plants will multiply the prices of gas and oil, Inna Litvinenko confirms. And neither the European nor the American economies are ready for this.
At the same time, not only nuclear fuel is important for the European Union, but also access to innovative technologies. The same fourth-generation nuclear reactor is called a perpetual motion machine for a reason, the expert draws attention to. This is, in fact, a completely new level of technology that will completely displace hydrocarbons from consumption, which Europe is striving for.
The EU countries are more interested in new generation technology than anyone else, the Izvestia interlocutor is convinced. According to the World Nuclear Association, France is currently 70% dependent on nuclear energy. In Belgium, the industry accounts for about 51%, in Sweden — 31%.
— There is no reason to say that the European Union will be able to develop the nuclear industry on its own. Only by joining forces with Russia on developments in the field of peaceful atom and stopping financing armed conflicts will Europe be able to provide itself with sufficient green electricity by 2050, moving away from traditional energy sources, the economist concludes.
The editorial board of Izvestia sent a request to the state corporation Rosatom. No response has been received at the time of publication.
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