Russian nuclear utility Rosenergoatom represented by the Branch for the Implementation of Capital Projects (FRKP – Filiala po Realizatsii Kapitalnikh Proektov) and Atomenergoproekt (part of Rosatom’s Engineering Division) have signed an agreement on the development of project documentation for the construction of unit 5 at the Beloyarsk NPP with a BN-1200 Generation IV fast reactor.
The contract covers the full cycle of design and survey work necessary for the development of design documentation and materials for the justification of a construction licence.
Comprehensive engineering research is already underway – one of the first stages of design. Thegoal is to study the natural conditions and factors of technological impact related to the development of project documentation for the construction of an energy unit and assess the environmental impact of the designed facility. Engineering surveys will be carried out on a site of 620,000 square metres.
By the end of 2024, the general designer will develop project documentation for the 1st stage of construction, which will allow the General Contractor, Atomstroyexport, (Rosatom’s Engineering Division) to begin the preparatory period of construction in 2025.
By the end of 2025, the design documentation for the main stage of the construction of the power unit will be transferred for approval to the Beloyarsk NPP. In 2026, it is planned to conduct a state examination of project documentation and send an application to regulator Rostekhnadzor for a construction licence. Rosenergoatom is making every effort to start the main work in a timely manner, as the first concrete is scheduled for June 2027.
The service life of the BN-1200M power unit will be at least 60 years. The project uses technical solutions that have proven themselves during the operation of predecessor fast reactor power units – the BN-600 (Beloyarsk unit 3) and the BN-800 (Beloyarsk 4). Justification of structural materials and fuel for the BN-1200M is carried out based on the work of the BN-600.
The BN-1200M will include a number of innovations. It will have four liquid sodium circulation loops compared with three for the BN-600 and BN-800. The volume of in-reactor storage will increase in to enable fuel assemblies to be unloaded from the reactor directly into the cooling pool, eliminating the need for intermediate drums for used fuel assemblies. The turbine condensers will be cooled by an evaporative cooling tower.
Beloyarsk 5 will become the lead model for operation as part of a two-component nuclear energy system. “As part of the work to develop Generation IV technology, Rosatom is creating a new technological platform for the deployment of a future nuclear energy system, based on fast reactors operating in a closed nuclear fuel cycle,” said Beloyarsk NPP Director Ivan Sidorov. “The prototype of a serial BN-1200M power unit will be installed at the Beloyarsk NPP. Rosatom has moved from single unique projects, such as BN-600 and BN-800, to serial, conveyor production with the BN-1200M. New technological solutions make it possible to fully utilise the energy potential of uranium raw materials, and also achieve a new level of safety.”
Alexander Yashkin, Director for the design of advanced nuclear power plants and special facilities and head of the Proryv Responsibility Centre at Atomenergoproekt said Rosatom is the world leader in fast reactor NPP technology. “Many years of experience in the development, construction and further maintenance of the BN-600 and BN-800 reactors led us to the creation of generation IV projects – the BN-1200M power unit and a project to close the nuclear fuel cycle. Today we are assuming responsibility for the well-being of future generations, guaranteeing the reliability and safety of our technologies to improve the quality of life and well-being.”
Serial production of BN-1200M power units can be launched as early as the 2040s, Sidorov told TASS. “In order to construct the BN-1200M reactor in series, we need to complete an individual project and show that the power unit is good. In 2034 we must commission the unit, and by 2045, perhaps, a series of such reactors will be in place.”
The BN-1200 will ensure the closure of the nuclear fuel cycle enabling: the full use of energy potential; the possibility of using both oxide and nitride fuel based on a mixture of uranium and plutonium; the possibility of burning of minor actinides (high-level waste); and the possibility of producing isotopes for use in medicine and industry.
