Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) said work to commission the upgraded instrumentation and control (I&C) system of the Bangladesh Training Research Reactor (BTRR) has been completed. KAERI said the project marks the first bilateral cooperation in the nuclear industry between the two countries.
In July 2021, KAERI won a $3.9m contract from the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) to modernise the BTRR. The 3 MW TRIGA Mark-II research reactor achieved its first criticality in September 1986. The reactor has been used for manpower training, radioisotope production (iodine-131), and various R&D activities in the field of neutron activation analysis, neutron radiography and neutron scattering.
The project involved the upgrade of key facilities, including the replacement of analog I&C with digital systems. KAERI Executive Vice President In-Cheol Lim said the BTRR project was the cornerstone of nuclear cooperation between Korea and Bangladesh. “And now we expect this accomplishment to further advance the peaceful use of nuclear energy and technologies in the country.”
KAERI signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with BAEC in May 2022, for technological cooperation in nuclear research and development. This included the development, utilisation and upgrading of research reactors, the production and application of radioisotopes, development of radiation technology, neutron science and the management of radioactive wastes.
n 2009, a KAERI-led consortium won the contract to construct the Jordan Research & Training Reactor (JRTR). In June this year, the consortium finished the capacity upgrade of a research reactor and installation of a cold neutron source at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. The OYSTER (Optimised Yield – for Science, Technology & Education – of Radiation) project, which started in 2014, was Korea’s first export of nuclear reactor technology to Europe. KAERI had also taken part in the upgrade and refurbishment of research reactor in Greece, Thailand and Malaysia.
KAERI is also collaborating with US partners in ensuring proliferation resistance of research reactors, especially in emerging countries. The Korean government earlier this year signed an MOU with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for the Proliferation Resistance Optimisation (Pro-X) Programme and KAERI will work closely with NNSA to optimise the institute’s export-oriented reactor designs.
