Russia has started a project that the whole world is watching. This was stated by the head of Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, at a meeting on the development of nuclear energy with the President of Russia.
"We have started practical work on the creation of fourth-generation systems. Vladimir Vladimirovich, you are well aware of the project in Seversk — a pilot demonstration power complex with a fast reactor BREST-300 (300 megawatts) with lead coolant. It allows you to close the nuclear fuel cycle, having both a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant and a fresh fabrication plant on the site," the head of the Russian state corporation said.
According to him, Rosatom plans to replicate and scale this technology by creating industrial power complexes of gigawatt format with high-power fast neutron reactors.
"Their universally recognized, internationally recognized advantage is increased safety, an almost unlimited resource base due to the involvement of the 238th uranium isotope in the fuel cycle and solving the problems of radioactive waste accumulation by burning out long—lived isotopes and closing the fuel cycle," explained the head of Rosatom.
"Without a doubt, we can say that the whole world is watching the construction site in Seversk now, and the launch of ODEC by 2030 will demonstrate our unconditional leadership in new nuclear technologies," said Alexey Likhachev.
Rosatom is the first in the world to reach the gigawatt capacity of a fast neutron reactor with a sodium coolant.
"Its construction is underway at the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant in Sverdlovsk region. Only in Fast neutron reactors in Russia are operated in an industrial format and, of course, will be an integral part of the new technological structure of the fourth generation of two—component nuclear power," added the head of Rosatom.