Rosatom proceeds with its successful research and development efforts to validate innovative nuclear fuels for next-generation fast neutron reactors. Two core designs with different types of uranium-plutonium nuclear fuel are being developed for the BN-1200 reactor: oxide MOX fuel, similar to that used in the BN-800 reactor, and dense nitride MNUP fuel, similar to the fuel designed for the Generation IV BREST-OD-300 reactor. The BREST-OD-300 reactordesigned for the lead coolant, is currently under construction as part of the strategic “Proryv” (“Breakthrough”) project.
Significant progress has been made in validating both core designs. Such, an irradiation assembly OS-4 with MNUP fuel rods has been fabricated. This experimental assembly is designed to achieve higher burnup level that would far exceed the requirements of the reactor core project, incorporating special technical solutions to ensure the safety of testing in the operational reactor.
Additionally, three unique experimental assemblies, KETVS-MAK, have been manufactured with the BN-1200 fuel rods with the MOX fuel matrix with an axial layer. These assemblies use MOX fuel with an axial blanket, a distinctive feature that sets them apart from traditional MOX fuel. The rods include a segment of “breeding material” within the fuel column, forming a horizontal layer that divides the reactor’s core into two sections. This innovative design significantly reduces radiation damage to the cladding while maintaining the required fuel burnup depth. Although this approach has been studied theoretically in several countries, Russia’s BN-1200 reactor will be the first to implement it in practice.
New nitride and oxide fuel assemblies, produced at the Siberian Chemical Сombine (a Rosatom Fuel Division enterprise in Seversk, Tomsk region), are scheduled for testing in the BN-600 reactor at the Beloyarsk NPP. The start of irradiation is planned for 2025. The operation results will enable the research team to validate the fuel at its maximum design parameters, study its performance, and prepare it for licensing.
The BN-1200 is expected to become the world’s first serially produced fast neutron reactor. It represents the next evolutionary step in Russia’s sodium-cooled fast reactor line, following the BN-600 and BN-800 reactors at the Beloyarsk NPP. The BN-1200 will also be constructed at the Beloyarsk NPP site, with construction scheduled to begin in 2027.
“The BN-1200 reactor is designed to accommodate either of the two fast reactor fuel types—MNUP or MOX. We already have extensive experience with MOX fuel production and operation, while high-density nitride fuel provides for additional neutron-physical advantages that could be valuable in the future. We are currently conducting intensive studies to select the optimal core design based on a comprehensive evaluation of multiple parameters,” said Alexander Ugryumov, Senior Vice President for Research and Development at TVEL (Rosatom Fuel Division).
