Ultimate potential

What is the role of UMP in the development of the nuclear power industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan and how does the plant solve the problem with the shortage of personnel in the uranium direction? Sergey Bezhetskiy, the Chairman of the Executive Management Board told about this and many other things on the eve of the Day of Workers of the Nuclear industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan and in connection with the regular Message of the President of Kazakhstan.

Environmental benefits of nuclear energy.

Currently, our energy industry, as you know, is mainly coal-fired.

In comparison, 1 kg of uranium enriched to 4% used in nuclear fuel, when completely burned out, releases energy equivalent to burning about 100 tons of high-quality coal or 60 tons of oil.

The installed capacity of the global nuclear power industry is 397 gigawatts. If all this power was generated from coal and gas sources, then an additional 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide would be emitted into the atmosphere annually.

On September 1, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev addressed the people of Kazakhstan with a Message. In particular, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan instructed the Government and the National Welfare Fund «Samruk-Kazyna» to study the development of safe and environmentally friendly nuclear energy in Kazakhstan: «This issue should be considered from the point of view of the development of engineering and the formation of a new generation of qualified nuclear engineers.»

It is reasonable that this topic interested journalists. Sergey Vladimirovich gave an interview to the Republican TV channel «Khabar».

Sergey Bezhetsky:

– Our Republic is actively developing, and the bets placed on environmentally friendly nuclear energy are certainly logical. Recently, there has been a shortage of energy capacity in Kazakhstan. And today in the republic they are thinking about how to solve this problem, including by obtaining atomic energy. Moreover, Kazakhstan is one of the undisputed world leaders in uranium reserves. The construction of a nuclear power plant is a sensitive issue related to radiophobia, and requires careful study at the state level. There are both weighty arguments against and objective circumstances that largely determine the development of nuclear energy in the country. In this direction, we have the following role – the plant has almost seventy years of experience working with uranium, the capacity of the UMP is sufficient to produce up to 400 tons of uranium pellets per year. Plus, an investment project has been implemented on the basis of the UMP – Ulba-FA LLP. Manufacturing of fuel assemblies (FA) with a capacity of 200 tons per year». This is an important link in the nuclear fuel cycle of JSC «NAC «Kazatomprom». The fuel assembly production facilities could hypothetically provide nuclear fuel for Kazakhstan's nuclear power plants of the appropriate design.

Since 2017, 15 people have graduated from the specialized master's degree, two people have completed the bachelor's degree. To date, at the expense of the plant, one person is studying for a master's degree and 14 for a bachelor's degree.

We also have a staff of competent uranium specialists, we pass on experience to the younger generation. Taking into account the fact that there is a shortage of qualified personnel in the labor market of Kazakhstan, serious work is underway at our plant in this regard. In particular, this is cooperation with organizations of technical and vocational post-secondary and higher education. Experienced employees of UMP are involved in the development of educational programs, taking into account the prospects for the development of our plant. They act as leaders of diploma and master's projects, as teachers of special disciplines.

For those who wish to build their professional career at UMP, there is a program for the provision of educational grants. It allows you to get a higher or postgraduate education in the areas that are in demand at the UMP. Within the framework of cooperation with Eastern Kazakhstan technical University by D. Serikbayev, our company trains qualified nuclear engineers in the specialized educational programs «Materials of Nuclear Energy» and «Innovative technologies for producing uranium products».

Students of educational organizations are given the opportunity to undergo practical training at the plant, with the possibility of subsequent employment. Thus, we can talk about the formation of a new generation of qualified nuclear engineers from a practical point of view. Our plant is an excellent launch for those who plan to continue developing in the field of nuclear energy.

Anna Chumina