Rosatom searching for ways of merging its civilian, defense businesses
PENZA. July 6 (Interfax) - Russian state corporation Rosatom is looking for ways of amalgamating its fuel business unit (TVEL) and its nuclear weapons complex (YaOK) in order to address common industrial problems and to develop dual-purpose technologies, President of the TVEL fuel company Yury Olenin said at a meeting in the town of Zarechny, Penza region, on Wednesday.
"TVEL is on the market, but YaOK is not. By bringing together our efforts and the business scale we will try to unite dual-purpose technologies, in particular, uranium enrichment," Olenin said at a meeting of Rosatom's TVEL and YaOK executives.
"The world's restrained approach to nuclear energy development" requires the Rosatom companies to work out new ways of addressing "common industrial problems," he said.
"Before Fukushima, our nuclear market grew by 3-4%, Fukushima has slowed it down even more," Olenin said.
Without developing high-tech civilian products, Rosatom will need "about 200 years" to achieve its 2030 strategic development goals, Olenin said.
"We must look for second business cores - highly technological civilian products. For instance, those regarding energy efficiency. If we fail to embark on this path, we will never catch up with the West," he said.
Companies in the industry need to join their efforts, said Yevgeny Margolin, Deputy Director of YaOK's Development Department. "The need for efficient interaction between enterprises in the industry is dictated by the economic expediency. This makes up for the reduced scope of work under government defense contracts," he said.