Russia's TVEL company produced the first batch of nuclear fuel to be used in Russia's new serial project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreakers, the company's press service said Tuesday.

Project 22220 is the world's largest and most powerful vessel of its kind, fitted with two specifically designed RITM-200 nuclear-power reactors.

The new vessels will be able to escort convoys in the Arctic, breaking ice up to almost 10 feet thick.

The fuel produced by TVEL using the company's modernized technology has special properties that allow it to double the life span of the nuclear-powered icebreakers' core reactor.

Arktika, the first project 22220 class ship and the first nuclear icebreaker to be fully built in modern-day Russia, was successfully launched from the Baltiysky Zavod shipyard in St. Petersburg on June 16.

The second ship, Sibir, was laid down at Baltiysky Zavod in May 2015, while the third submarine, Ural, is expected to be laid at the end of July.

Russia has been developing its nuclear-icebreakers as it tries to step up its military, trade and exploration activities in the Arctic.

The TVEL company belongs to the Russian state-owned Rosatom nuclear energy corporation.

Source: Sputnik News