Russia Plans to Build Floating Nuclear Power Plant Production Facility Near Murmansk

Rosatom is considering building its own production facility near Murmansk to complete the construction of floating nuclear power plants. The company believes that as related orders increase, the capacity of existing partners may struggle to meet future demand.

Baltic Shipyard is one of Rosatom's key partners. The Akademik Lomonosov floating nuclear power plant and four Project 22220 Arktika-class nuclear-powered icebreakers were all built at this shipyard. Currently, the two sides continue to maintain close cooperation, with a significant portion of Baltic Shipyard's orders related to Rosatom projects.

Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev stated that the company is evaluating options for building its own production facility, with project investment expected to reach tens of billions of rubles. He said that the serial construction of Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreakers is one of the company's key tasks, as market demand for icebreakers continues to grow. Meanwhile, the company is also analyzing the prospects for floating nuclear power plant projects, with current plans involving dozens of such plants.

Likhachev stated that in areas where cooperation with partners is more efficient, the company will continue to adopt the partnership model; in areas where establishing in-house production capacity is truly necessary, the company will also advance corresponding arrangements.

He noted that the area near Murmansk is a carefully considered site option. The region is close to Russia's nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet and port infrastructure, is near a major city, and has access to the sea.

Previously, Rosatom had discussed the possibility of incorporating Baltic Shipyard into the company. However, the shipyard's management decided to remain within the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) system, and Rosatom accepted this decision. Since then, the number of related orders placed with the shipyard has continued to grow.