Rosatom starts construction of BREST-OD-300 fast neutron reactor

• 3 years ago (2021-06-10)
• David Flin

Asia 892 Nuclear 659

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Rosatom has begun construction of a 300 MW nuclear power plant with the BREST-OD-300 lead-cooled fast reactor has started at the Siberian Chemical Combine in Seversk, in Russia’s Tomsk region. The reactor will run on mixed uranium plutonium nitride fuel (MNUP fuel) specially developed for this facility.

The power plant will form an integral part of the Pilot Demonstration Energy Complex (PDEC), a cluster of three interconnected facilities. These consist of a nuclear fuel production plant, the BREST-OD-300 power unit, and a facility for irradiated fuel reprocessing. This is the first time that a nuclear power plant powered by a fast reactor will be built alongside closed nuclear fuel cycle servicing enterprises on one site.

According to the planned schedule, the BREST-OD-300 reactor should start operating in 2026. The fuel production facility will be built by 2023, and construction of the irradiated fuel reprocessing module is scheduled to start by 2024.