The two-day Atomexpo-2022 international forum ended on Tuesday in Sochi of Russia with commitment to ensure sustainable and environmentally along with cost effective energy.
More than 2500 participant along with leading experts from 65 countries attended the event, where 50 cooperation agreements with nuclear technology were signed.
Alexei Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom, a State Corporation of Russia, on Monday inaugurated the event at the Sirus Park of Science and Art in Sochi of Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his greetings to the participants, organisers and guests at the 12th International Forum ATOMEXPO 2022.
A Bangladesh delegation including officials of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, nuclear experts and journalists were joined at the event led by Architect Yeafesh Osman, Minister of Science and Technology.
Mohammad Shawkat Akbar, Project Director of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant were also attend the event.
Bangladesh has gained special importance due to the under construction Rooppur nuclear power plant using by latest technology in this year's expo.
On the first day, Bangladesh got an opportunity to participate in the plenary session of a limited number of countries. There, the Science Minister highlighted the importance of Rooppur and the progress of Bangladesh.
As part of the forum themed as ‘Nuclear Spring: Creating a Sustainable Future’, 31 events including plenary sessions, roundtables and panel discussions were held involving interested participants from around the globe to discuss the role the nuclear energy is playing in solving the tasks on the global nuclear agenda and the contribution of nuclear technology to achieving the UN Sustainable Developments Goals. The participants also discussed green and blue economy strategies, the role of AI in nuclear energy, industry digitalization amid current challenges and a range of other pressing issues.
A roundtable discussion on ‘Diversification of Solutions for the ‘Green’ Energy Transition’ was held Rusatom Service and NovaWind.
The participants discussed prominent issues of the green energy transition such as the rapid development of renewable energy and the growth of its proportion in the energy mix of countries in the light of combating climate change; the future of renewable energy against a backdrop of a shortage of generation capacities; transition risks in a time of green energy stagnation; and opportunities for evading the energy crisis altogether.
“We are viewing manufacturers of hydropower generators for small hydropower plants, power electronics, and software as a window of opportunity: for instance, we have our competencies in small HPP equipment, which opens horizons for filling a new niche,” said Evgeny Salkov, General Director of Rusatom Service, in his address.
“Redistribution of export-import traffic unlocks major opportunities for the export of Russian technology. Markets, where RES potential is not yet utilized to the fullest, can view NovaWind as a reliable partner with strong competencies in project development, which has in-house manufacturing and operation capacities,” said Grigory Nazarov, General Director of NovaWind.
“We are making progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving a reasonably balanced power mix.
“However, work in this area must be adjusted to achieve greater import substitution of equipment and look for new partners in markets outside Europe,” noted Alexey Zhikharev, Director of the Association for the Development of Renewable Energy.
“Development of RES-based distributed generation in remote and isolated regions in the Far East and the Arctic can become a key area of diversification for green energy transition solutions in our country.
“FEDC aids in implementing investment projects in the local energy sector and is actively involved in developing additional government incentives for this industry,” commented Maksim Gubanov, Head of the Energy, Housing and Public Utilities Sector, Department of Industry Evaluation, Corporation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
John Nutt, Managing Director of Delph Engineering Consulting, noted: “Many African countries, including South Africa, face power shortages, and power supply is often unstable due to system faults (power failures) and scheduled rolling blackouts.
Aleksandr Konyukhov, General Director of Power Machines, said: “Power Machines are ready to fill the niche of a technologically independent manufacturer of wind turbines with up to 5 MW capacity, which was left empty after pseudo-localised European manufacturers left the market.
“This is a complementary product for Power Machines, a power machinery company, and we can rapidly launch its production. We are currently evaluating demand and considering possible partners for implementing this project.”
Roundtable participants evaluated the proportion of low-carbon power by 2030-2035 and discussed current barriers to the development of green power.
Based on this discussion, key factors limiting the development of green power include long payback periods, fierce competition and “expensive” money for investors.
An online survey showed that in the audience’s opinion, the share of RES in the global energy mix will experience substantial growth in the next 10-15 years.
The ATOMEXPO international forum, organized with the support of ROSATOM, has been held annually since 2009. However, it was not held in 2020-2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous forum, Atomexpo-2019, was attended by more than 4,000 people from 74 countries, and over 40 cooperation agreements were signed.
