Russia’s Atommash and the Izhora plants (part of Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division) have manufactured key equipment for the Brest-OD-300 lead-cooled fast reactor being built at the Siberian Chemical Combine (SKhK – Sibirskovo Khimicheskovo Kombinata) in Seversk, Tomsk region. The reactor is part of the pilot demonstration power complex (ODEK – Opitno Demonstratsionovo Energo-Kompleksa), under the Breakthrough (Proryv) project intended to demonstrate closed fuel cycle technology.
Six items, together weighing more than 1,000 tonnes, were manufactured in total. The Atommash plant in Volgodonsk shipped to the construction site the central void shell and inner casing for the core support barrel. These components will hold nuclear fuel once installed. The Izhora plant in St Petersburg shipped four peripheral cavity shells. These will house steam generators and pumps to ensure the circulation of the coolant. Each item is more than 15 metres high and up to 8 metres wide.
The dimensions and shapes of the components for the Brest reactor differ significantly from those for the VVER and the RITM reactors, which have been mass-produced by Mechanical Engineering Division for many years. This necessitated adapting the production facilities to handle products as tall as a five-storey building as well as developing unique packaging that weighed a total of 700 tonnes to safely transport and manoeuvre the equipment during installation. The products will operate at extremely high temperatures, requiring the use of special steels with exceptional mechanical properties. These steels must withstand temperatures up to 600 degrees Celsius.
“Russian designers, engineers, and machine builders are pioneering the future of the energy industry,” said Igor Kotov, Head of the Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division. “Our machine builders, with their extensive experience and the latest scientific advancements, were the first in the world to embark on the practical realisation of the Generation IV reactor project. This achievement has laid a robust foundation for technologies that will benefit our children, grandchildren, and future generations.”
The reactor unit will be assembled on the construction site. In total, about 2,300 tonnes of equipment will be sent there from the enterprises of the Mechanical Engineering Division. The total weight of the installation will be 16,000 tonnes (including concrete, which will be used to fill the space between the products).
Several production facilities within the Mechanical Engineering Division play a key role in producing equipment for Brest. Previously, the Izhora plant delivered to the construction site essential components for the reactor shaft. These included the containment structure, support plate, and intermediate shell, weighing over 500 tonnes in total.
Russia’s Generation IV reactor technologies promise to revolutionise the nuclear energy sector by enhancing safety, expanding fuel options, and significantly reducing radioactive waste. Construction of ODEK is a pivotal goal of Russia’s “New Nuclear & Energy Technologies” project. This initiative aims to strengthen Russia’s global standing in nuclear and new energy technologies, achieve technological self-reliance, and ensure energy security over the next five years.
The Proryv project is aimed at industrial realisation of a closed nuclear fuel cycle based on fast neutron reactors. The project is led by JSC Proryv, with the expertise of leading Russian scientists and engineers. Various industry institutes are also involved. The project will establish a nuclear power complex (ODEK) featuring a lead-cooled BREST-OD-300 reactor. It will also include a stationary facility with two key components: a module for reprocessing irradiated mixed uranium-plutonium nitride fuel, and a fabrication/refabrication unit for producing fuel rods from reprocessed materials. The facility is engineered to showcase the reliable performance of systems crucial for closing the nuclear fuel cycle.
The BREST-OD-300 will be the world’s first reactor plant utilising lead as its coolant. Its design is based on principles of natural safety. The reactor’s efficiency will be enhanced by the use of innovative mixed nitride uranium-plutonium fuel. It comprises solely secondary byproducts of the nuclear fuel cycle: depleted uranium and plutonium. The development and deployment of this technology will, therefore, greatly expand the nuclear power industry’s resource base. It will enable the reprocessing of irradiated fuel assemblies to create new fuel, instead of storing them. This will also significantly reduce the production of nuclear waste and its radioactivity.
