Alexander Ignatyuk, analyst of Energocapital IC

– Quality of Russian nuclear power equipment is indisputable

On May 20 Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin and Director General of Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation Sergey Kiriyenko visited the All-Russia Research Institute of Automatics (VNIIA). During a conference on the development and optimization of the nuclear complex Putin said: “Recently, we have seriously reorganized our nuclear complex. We have set up Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation, which has incorporated quite a big number of nuclear companies and organizations. Presently, Rosatom is implementing large-scale plans to modernize its companies with a view to enhance their efficiency.”

In the face of the global crisis big investors are withdrawing their money from innovative projects with indefinite deadlines and refrain from putting money in venture projects. Production is declining and this is a heavy blow for high-tech industries, especially, microelectronics. This is a global process. And in such a situation microelectronics producers need the active support of state companies. This is not life-saving: here the goal of the state is not short-term profit but long-term economic growth.

In this particular case, the interests of Rosatom and VNIIA are closely inter-related. Rosatom can finance the anti-crisis measures of microelectronics producers while the latter can help the Corporation to reduce risks under its NPP construction program. In other words, Rosatom relies exclusively on national nuclear technologies and avoids ordering equipment abroad. The quality of Russian nuclear power equipment is indisputable and has been confirmed once more by the European certification of the NPP-2006 project in the framework of the construction of Belene NPP.