Mastering the Technology of Fast Reactors with Liquid-Metal Coolant at the Beloyarsk NPP

9/10/2025 2025 - #03 Chemistry, physics and technology of reactor coolants

Nosov Yu.V. Oshkanov N.N. Bakanov M.V. Sidorov I.I.

https://doi.org/10.26583/npe.2025.3.12

Sodium-cooled fast neutron reactors are one of the most environmentally friendly reactor types and play an important role in the development of Russia’s nuclear power industry and the long-term supply of nuclear fuel to the industry. The long-term successful operation of the industrial-scale fast neutron reactor BN-600 and the commissioning of a new power unit with a more powerful BN-800 reactor have made Russia a world leader in the construction and operation of fast neutron reactors.

This paper describes the stages of mastering the capacity of the sodium-cooled fast neutron power reactors BN-600 and BN-800 at the Beloyarsk NPP.

Based on the experience of BN-600 and BN-800 operation, a power unit with a BN-1200M reactor is being created, which can be considered as the head in a series of power units with BN-1200M reactors. The creation of the series will significantly expand the fuel base of nuclear power by reusing spent nuclear fuel from other NPPs, minimizing radioactive waste by burning the longest-lived isotopes from spent nuclear fuel from other reactors. The main task in creating the BN-1200M is to achieve economic characteristics that ensure its competitiveness with a serial thermal neutron reactor VVER of a similar power level. According to the General Scheme for the Placement of Electric Power Facilities approved by the Government of the Russian Federation until 2042, the lead power unit with the BN-1200 reactor will be built at the Beloyarsk NPP as power unit No. 5.

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fast neutrons nuclear fuel radioactive waste competitiveness efficiency sodium coolant BN-600 BN-800

Link for citing the article: Nosov Yu.V., Oshkanov N.N., Bakanov M.V., Sidorov I.I. Mastering the Technology of Fast Reactors with Liquid-Metal Coolant at the Beloyarsk NPP. Izvestiya vuzov. Yadernaya Energetika. 2025, no. 3, pp. 169-185; DOI: https://doi.org/10.26583/npe.2025.3.12 (in Russian).