Russia’s Beloyarsk NPP has said that this year it plans to send documents to regulator Rostechnadzor to obtain a licence for the construction of unit 5 at the plant. Nuclear workers are also increasing the scale of construction work and reviewing design documentation, according to Beloyarsk NPP Director Yuri Nosov.
“Our solutions will determine how reliable, safe and convenient the first serial power unit with a fast reactor will be. In 2026, the nuclear power plant already plans to hire specialists for the future power unit with the BN-1200M reactor. They will review all project documentation,” he said.
The BN-1200M reactor is an evolutionary development of the Russian fast reactors BN-600 and BN-800 at units 3&4 of the Beloyarsk NPP. In July 2025, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev launched preparatory work for the construction of the sodium-cooled BN-1200M fast reactor at unit 5 of the Beloyarsk NPP. The service life of the new fast reactor will be at least 60 years, it will be the lead for serial production with fast neutron NPPs planned to be replicated in other regions of Russia. The BN-1200M will be the world’s biggest fast reactor.
Nosov said the main priorities in the coming year will remain ensuring the safe, stable operation of the existing power units, implementing the production programme for generating electricity and carrying out scheduled repairs on time. These include the BN-600 sodium-cooled fast reactor at unit 3, which began operation in 1980, and the larger BN-800 (unit 4) sodium-cooled fast reactor, which began operation in 2015.
Rostechnadzor in 2025 extended operating licence for the BN-600 reactor for another 15 years. Based on the results of assessing the technical condition, the reactor will generate about 60 billion kWh of electricity by 2040. This is enough to cover the demand for energy in the Sverdlovsk region for more than a year.
Units 1&2 are closed for decommissioning. Beloyarsk said the most important work over the past year was the transfer of used fuel from the unit 1 holding pool to the previously repaired unit 2 holding pool. This will ensure the safe storage of used fuel until they are exported for processing at the Federal State Unitary Enterprise production association Mayak. Also, during last year cleaning the technological shafts of the central halls began and will be completed in 2027.
