A delegation from Rosatom State
Corporation participated in the International Conference on Fast Reactors and
Related Fuel Cycles: from Innovation to Implementation (FR26, Fast Reactors).
The event, organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), took
place from May 18 to 21 in Beijing.
The ceremony was opened by Liu Jing, Deputy Chairman of the China Atomic Energy Agency (CAEA), and Mikhail Chudakov, Deputy Director General of the IAEA. The Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, and the scientific director of the Proryv project area, the scientific director of the Order of Lenin N.A. Dolezhal Scientific Research and Design Institute of Energy Engineering (NIKIET) Evgeny Adamov, addressed the guests of the conference with a video greeting. During the conference, representatives of the international atomic community outlined national strategies for the development of fast reactor technologies and nuclear fuel cycle facilities, as well as presented the latest achievements. The participants also reviewed a wide range of areas in the field of fast reactor technology development, from approaches to reactor safety assurance and the use of artificial intelligence to evaluating economic models of projects and methods of interaction with the community.
"The development of fast neutron reactors is of fundamental importance for the global nuclear energy industry. Given the ever-growing plans in the world to create new nuclear power plants, we will inevitably face a shortage of available natural uranium. And in this logic, fast reactor technologies become not merely desirable, but vital. Rosatom, being the pioneer in the development of fast reactors and fourth—generation power systems in general, has a lot to offer the world in this area," said Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom State Corporation.
The Russian delegation presented the
approaches and results defining the current agenda for the development of
fourth-generation nuclear energy. Alexander Lokshin, First Deputy Director
General for the Development of New Nuclear Energy Products at Rosatom State
Corporation, was among the honorary speakers of the conference with a key
report on the development of a new technological platform for Russian energy
based on fast reactors and closed-circuit nuclear power plants.
Reports during the technical sessions of the conference were presented by Andrey Petrenko, Chief Engineer of the Proryv (Breakthrough) project area, Andrey Kashirsky, Head of the Analytical Department of Proryv JSC, and Andrey Moiseev, Scientific Director of the BREST-OD-300 reactor development project, Andrey Moiseev, Chief Expert of the Department of Scientific and Technical Activities on nuclear fuel for fast neutron reactors at TVEL JSC." Andrey Khomyakov, as well as employees of a number of other industry organizations.
As part of the exhibition section of the conference, Rosatom demonstrated an exposition with a multimedia mock-up of a two-component nuclear power system of the fourth generation. The project provides for the creation of a new technological platform for nuclear energy based on a closed nuclear fuel cycle using fast neutron reactors. The state corporation's stand was visited by a delegation led by Mikhail Chudakov and Liu Jing. The leaders were presented with the achievements of long-term Russian-Chinese cooperation in the field of nuclear technology, including the Tianwan and Xudapu NPP projects, as well as joint work on "fast" topics.
Alongside with the joint work of Russia and China on a comprehensive long-term cooperation program in the field of fast neutron reactors and NFC closure, Chinese specialists have been studying at the Russian BOR-60 reactor for several years. This installation is located at the site of the Rosatom Scientific Institute in Dimitrovgrad (Ulyanovsk region).
"BOR-60 occupies a leading position in the world, continuing to demonstrate the potential of long-term operation of FN reactors. Based on the experience gained and research, new devices, process calculation methods, and means and techniques for maintaining coolant quality have been developed. Using the operational experience of the BOR-60 and experimental research, the concept of a multi–purpose fast research reactor MBIR was developed, which Rosatom is building today, inviting countries to join the international research center being created on our site," said Alexander Tuzov, Director of the Rosatom Scientific Institute in Dimitrovgrad.
The delegation of the Rosatom State Corporation became the largest of the foreign ones, and consisted of more than 40 participants.
The International Conference
"Fast Reactors and Related Fuel Cycles: from Innovation to
Implementation" (FR26) is organized by the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA). This conference continues the series of IAEA forums on fast
reactors held in Kyoto (2009), Paris (2013), Yekaterinburg (2017) and Vienna
(2022).
The conference in Beijing was co-organized by the China Atomic Energy Agency (CAEA) and the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE).
The conference program included nine thematic tracks: innovative fast reactor designs, safety and licensing, fuel cycle technologies and sustainability, fuels and materials, experimental facilities, modeling and simulation, economics and non-energy applications, commissioning and decommissioning, public communications and personnel training.
Generation IV energy systems are a generation of nuclear energy systems (according to the classification adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency), which involves the use of various technologies united by a common result – higher fuel efficiency, increased safety, energy efficiency, reduction of spent nuclear fuel, etc. Generation IV systems are capable of drastic changes in the nuclear power industry, primarily due to a new level of safety, expansion of the fuel range and significant reduction of radioactive waste. Russia is one of the leaders in the development of fourth-generation technologies: pre-design work has begun on the construction of the BN-1200M power unit at the fifth power unit of the Beloyarsk NPP; in the Tomsk region, at the industrial site of Siberian Chemical Plant JSC (SCP JSC, an enterprise of the Rosatom Fuel Division), for the first time in world practice, nuclear power plants are being built on one site with the BREST-OD-300 reactor and the jetty closed nuclear fuel cycle.
