Rosatom deems nuclear energy to be crucial to economy decarbonization

MINSK, 16 July (BelTA) – Nuclear energy plays the key role in resolving economy decarbonization problems. Deputy Director of Rosatom's Regional Center for Eastern Europe Vladimir Gorn made the statement during the Electric Transport Day organized by the Belarusian Energy Ministry in association with the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone and the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom on 16 July, the corporation's press service told BelTA.

On 16 July experts discussed electric transport development trends in Belarus as well as the new opportunities the commissioning of the Belarusian nuclear power plant opens up for Belarus from the point of view of transport decarbonization.

The number of personal electric vehicles rises fast in Belarus as well as the number of electric buses. Trucks and loading vehicles are becoming electric. Most of the vehicles are of Belarusian make at that. Transport decarbonization is a significant step for Belarus to honor its commitments regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions within the framework of the Paris Agreement.

Vladimir Gorn said: “Nuclear energy plays the key role in resolving economy decarbonization problems. Nowadays nuclear power plants represent one of the most reliable sources of clean energy. Belarus has chosen safe nuclear energy as the national energy strategy. It is a decision of strategic importance that will allow providing the country's economy with a reliable source of energy for many years in addition to helping the country reach the sustainable development goals.”

The development of energy accumulation systems that will allow charging electric vehicles reliably and fast is an important factor for faster growth of the sector. OOO RENERA, part of Rosatom's TVEL Fuel Company, specializes in that.

RENERA Director General Dmitry Serebryakov said: “A new age of green transport transition has begun. World corporations intend to make more electric vehicles and fewer automobiles with internal combustion engines. For us as a producer of accumulation systems based on lithium-ion batteries it is a signal that heralds the start of revolutionary processes: accumulators have to be convenient, reliable, affordable, and safe for the environment because it is their key competitive advantage over gasoline and diesel engines.”

Lithium-ion batteries as part of electric transport have become popular recently due to a number of advantages: they do not require expensive service, they can be charged from a common power socket, and need no special room for charging. They boast high energy density and can discharge up to 90% of their capacity without power reduction.