Electrochemical Plant (ECP)

The Electrochemical Plant Production Association (JSC) is an enterprise of the Fuel Company TVEL, which is part of the State Nuclear Energy Corporation Rosatom.

Performance indicators

2022: Record 11.6% increase in overseas revenue to more than $20.6 million

In 2022, revenue from the sale of products, works, and production services of JSC PO Electrochemical Plant exceeded 19 billion rubles, an increase of 6.9% compared to the same indicator in 2021. At the same time, the company's revenue from non-nuclear products amounted to more than 2.1 billion rubles. The EKZ Production Association published such data on its website on February 7, 2023.

The electrochemical plant "Rosatom" received a record foreign revenue from the sale of isotope products
Photo: Isotope production workshop. In the machine room
Photo source: JSC "PO ECP"

In particular, revenue from the sale of isotope products exceeded 1.6 billion rubles. Including foreign revenue of EHZ software once again broke the record and, according to the company, exceeded $20.6 million, which is 11.6% higher than in 2021.

Reliable supplies of isotope products to the world market are ensured thanks to the coordinated cooperation of JSC "PO ECP," JSC TVEL and - JSC "V/O" Isotope " an industry integrator in the field of circulation and promotion of isotope products of enterprises of the State Corporation "."Rosatom

"The use of new multimodal transport schemes in 2022 made it possible to timely fulfill obligations to customers of isotope products of JSC PO ECH and maintain a balanced portfolio of orders," said Sergey Karaulov, Deputy General Director of JSC PO ECH for the development of non-nuclear businesses.

In 2022, the first batch of zirconium-96 (96Zr) isotope with 88% enrichment was produced at the industrial gas-centrifugal plant. The product was delivered to the customer - the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna. This isotope will be used to study neurin-free double beta decay. According to JSC "PO ECP," such work was carried out for the first time in the world. This isotope became the 22nd chemical element mastered by the enterprise. In general, as of February 2023, ECP has competencies for the production of already 115 stable isotopes and continues to occupy more than 1/3 of the global stable isotope market.

In 2022, samples of other zirconium isotopes - 90Zr, 92Zr and 94Zr - were also developed. The company has put into commercial operation a plant for the production of isotopes of light and medium mass elements.

In addition, after a long break, a large batch of silicon-28 was shipped. In Russia and the world, a number of experimental projects have been initiated to develop quantum computers using highly enriched silicon-28. The product is also used in the semiconductor industry and microelectronics.

Within the framework of in-industry cooperation, deliveries of starting materials (nickel-62, selenium-74, disks made of enriched iridium-191 and other isotope products) for obtaining demanded radionuclide products for medical and industrial purposes were fully completed to JSC IRM and JSC SSC NIIAR.

In 2022, work continued on the creation of a synthesis site for C-13-urea, a product used for the manufacture of medical respiratory tests, with the help of which it is possible to establish human infection with the bacterium Helicobacter Pylori (the main reason for the development of stomach ulcers, gastritis and cancer).

The modernization and expansion of the ECP production capacity for isotope production is carried out within the framework of the strategic program "Development of Isotope Production of Rosatom State Corporation," operated by Rusatom Healthcare JSC.

History

2023: Core Activities

JSC ON "Electrochemical Plant" is a significant participant in the world uranium and isotope markets, fulfilling export contracts since 1994. Uranium enrichment is carried out using high-performance and economical gas centrifuges. Low-enriched uranium generated at ECP is used in nuclear generation electric power not only, Russia but also,,,,,, and England Germany USA France Sweden REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA others. South Korea countries

The company has technologies for obtaining more than 100 stable and radioactive isotopes of 22 chemical elements and is one of the world's largest producers of isotope products on an industrial scale. Isotope products of the enterprise are widely used in various industries, medicine, and science, including in global scientific experiments: the study of the properties of neutrin-free double β decay, the registration of solar neutrinos, the study of the "dark matter" of the Universe and others.

The main activities of JSC PO Electrochemical Plant for February 2023:

• processing, transportation and storage of nuclear materials, including the production of low-enriched uranium for the manufacture of fuel for reactors of nuclear power plants;
• separation of stable and radioactive isotopes of various chemical elements;
• storage and processing of depleted uranium hexafluoride;
• processing of OGFU with formation of hydrofluoric acid and anhydrous hydrogen fluoride.

2021

Development of zirconium isotope separation technology by gas-centrifugal method on an industrial scale

In 2021, specialists of JSC PO EKH for the first time in the world mastered the technology of zirconium isotope separation by the gas-centrifugal method on an industrial scale; methods and methods of operating an active separation plant for enriching zirconium and cleaning it from hafnium impurity are developed, a product is obtained with enrichment of more than 80% by zirconium-96 isotope.

Construction of a building to house a depleted uranium hexafluoride defluorination plant

In April 2021, JSC PO Electrochemical Plant began the active phase of construction and installation work in the building, which will house a new decofluorination plant for depleted uranium hexafluoride - W2-EKhZ. By the end of 2021, work on the preparation of foundations has been completed. In December 2021, the first batches of complex equipment for power supply, instrument profile, ventilation and part of process pipelines were received from France.

2020

Design of C-13-urea synthesis site

In October 2020, the design of the S-13-urea synthesis site, a product used for the manufacture of medical respiratory tests, began in the isotope production workshop of PO ECP JSC. For the production of C-13-carbamide, the highly enriched isotope carbon-13 (13S) in the form of SO2 is used. Carbon enrichment by the 13S isotope is carried out in cascades of gas centrifuges (working substance - CO2 carbon dioxide).

Processing of 100 thousand tons of depleted uranium hexafluoride

As of May 2020, JSC PO Electrochemical Plant has processed 100 thousand tons of depleted uranium hexafluoride (OGFU) since the beginning of industrial operation of the W-EKZ plant in December 2009.