"The breakthrough is the beginning of a new stage, a new chapter in the development of global nuclear energy"

Nuclear energy remains the backbone of the economies of developed countries, including Russia. Significant innovations are planned in this industry in the near future. Izvestia talked with Elena Rodina, Head of the Physics Department of fast neutron reactors in a closed nuclear fuel cycle, Proryv JSC (Rosatom State Corporation), about a new unique nuclear reactor of domestic design and its prospects.

— We recently spoke at one of the plenary sessions of the Congress of Young Scientists in Sirius, where we talked about the Breakthrough project. Tell us, what is the current state of this project and what exactly are you creating in Seversk?

— The Breakthrough project, which is being implemented by Rosatom in close cooperation with the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center, universities and the Russian Academy of Sciences, is entering a key stage. We are actually completing the creation of the world's first industrial closed-loop nuclear fuel cycle technology based on fast neutron reactors.

A pilot demonstration power complex (ODEC) is being built in the city of Seversk, Tomsk Region, which includes three interconnected parts: the BREST-OD-300 fast neutron reactor with a lead coolant, the nitride SNOOP fuel fabrication and refabrication module, and the irradiated fuel reprocessing module. These are not separate facilities, but a single production line that should demonstrate a closed cycle "from fuel to fuel" on a real industrial scale.

The first stage of ODEC, the fuel fabrication and refabrication module, has already been created and has been in trial operation since December 2024. The construction of the most innovative nuclear power plant with the BREST-OD-300 reactor with a capacity of 300 MW is currently underway.

— Why has the topic of closed fuel cycle and fast reactors become so relevant right now?

— The approaches that underlie generation IV reactor systems today have very deep roots. The idea of reproducing fuel in fast neutron reactors was born back in the 1940s. It took about 80 years to implement this idea in an industrial format — the industry has accumulated a huge amount of knowledge, developed various designs and materials.

In parallel, new challenges have emerged. After the accidents at Triple Island, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and Fukushima, the world community significantly revised its safety requirements. Plus, the issue of the accumulation of spent fuel and radioactive waste, as well as the long-term resource security of nuclear energy, has become more acute. We understand that with the further growth of nuclear generation, humanity will inevitably face restrictions on uranium raw materials.

Therefore, fast neutron systems with a closed fuel cycle are no longer just an "interesting future", but a technological necessity if we are talking about a large, sustainable and at the same time environmentally acceptable nuclear energy balance.

— You often talk about a two-component nuclear power scheme. What is its meaning and why does it remove environmental claims against the industry?

— A two-component scheme means that two types of reactors coexist in the power system: thermal (traditional VVER and their analogues) and fast. Thermal reactors provide the main generation today, while fast ones perform two critical functions at once — they reproduce fuel and "sanitize" nuclear waste.

It is this division of roles that makes it possible to remove key environmental claims against nuclear energy. Currently, everything that cannot be re-involved in the fuel cycle is considered as waste to be disposed of in the world. At the same time, long—lived minor actinides, such as americium, neptunium, and curium, are formed in the spent fuel. They define the very "tail" of thousands of years, because of which waste cannot simply be placed in near-surface storage facilities.

The two-component scheme with fast reactors allows us to change the philosophy itself: we do not shift the problem to future generations, but radically reduce the time and scale of the radiation hazard of waste within one technological system.

— What exactly makes long-lived minor actinides such a difficult problem for waste management?

— The main problem is that it is precisely because of the content of minor actinides that spent fuel and highly radioactive waste have remained dangerous for thousands of years. This means that they cannot simply be buried near the surface — either long-term controlled storage or the creation of special storage facilities in deep geological formations is required.

Formally, such a way is being discussed: it is assumed that the waste can be isolated for geological times. But we have no real guarantees that any storage facility will remain as reliable over the horizon of many thousands of years — geological processes are continuing, hydrogeology is changing, the stressed state of the massif is changing, and unpredictable factors are possible.

Today, in fact, the problem has been recognized as postponed: no country has yet found a complete solution for industrial deep storage facilities. In fact, we are creating a "gift" for future generations, shifting the risk and responsibility for what we have produced to them now. This is precisely what fundamentally contradicts the ideology of sustainable development and nature-like technologies.

— How do fast reactors help solve this problem and what does the principle of radiation-equivalent burial mean?

— The hard energy spectrum of fast neutrons makes it possible to effectively "burn out" long-lived minor actinides. In other words, under the influence of fast neutrons, minor actinides will split into fission fragments or pass into other isotopes, resulting in a different, much more time-controlled radiation profile of waste.

As a result, the danger period of radioactive waste is drastically reduced. After 100-150 years, the risks of cancer from such waste turn out to be lower than similar risks from natural uranium raw materials. This is a fundamental change: we are moving away from millennial horizons to time scales comparable to the life span of several generations.

The ideology of the so-called radiation-equivalent burial is precisely to bring the radioactivity of waste to the level of natural raw materials. A closed fuel cycle combined with fast reactors brings the radioactivity of waste to the level of natural ore, a principle unattainable by traditional open circuits. In this case, we can talk about the final burial without the risk of delayed damage to the population in the future.

— It is often argued that fast reactors are "naturally safe" installations. What is the expression of this natural safety and why do you exclude scenarios of major accidents?

— The concept of natural safety is based on the fact that the main protective properties are inherent in the very physics of the process, in the design solutions and in the characteristics of the materials used. In other words, security is ensured not by "complex automation", but primarily by the internal properties of the system.

— What role did Russian scientists and security developments play in the implementation of this concept?

— The scientific principles and safety criteria underlying the Breakthrough project are the result of many years of work by leading Russian specialists. These are physicists, materials scientists, thermophysicists, and computational engineers.

It is very important that we are not just talking about private solutions, but about a complete technological platform: from substantiating the characteristics of the reactor plant to approaches to fuel and waste management. I would like to note that a number of scientists, Evgeny Olegovich Adamov, Vladimir Grigorievich Asmolov and Mikhail Valentinovich Kovalchuk, were awarded the state Presidential Prize precisely for their contribution to the creation of this security platform. This is a serious recognition at the state level that we are moving in the right direction.

— Let's learn more about the BREST-OD-300 itself. What is its uniqueness and at what stage is the construction now?

— BREST-OD-300 is the world's first industrial fast neutron reactor with a 300 MW lead coolant. Its development was carried out at NIKIET im. Academician Dollezhal. In ODEC, it will become the "heart" of the complex, around which fuel processing and fabrication/refabrication modules are built.

The reactor is scheduled to be launched in 2028, and the irradiated fuel reprocessing module is scheduled to be launched in 2030. After that, we will close the entire cycle: from fuel production to its processing and reuse. This will be a demonstration of a fully closed nuclear power system of a new generation.

— You mentioned nitride SNOOP fuel. Why is this particular type of fuel chosen and what experience has already been gained?

— We use nitride mixed uranium-plutonium fuel — SNOOP — because it combines several key advantages. Firstly, it has high thermal conductivity and good operational characteristics, which is important for fast reactors with lead coolant. Secondly, it is nitride fuel that makes it possible to realize full reproduction inside the core and reach the necessary parameters of a closed cycle.

— What will be the next step after BREST-OD-300? What serial solutions do you see on the horizon in the 2030s and 40s?

— BREST-OD-300 was conceived as a pilot demonstration reactor, but from the very beginning it was designed with an eye to scaling. Its logical continuation will be the 1200 MW BR—1200 serial fast reactor with lead coolant, which is also being worked on at NIKIET. It is assumed that it will be built in Seversk, and the launch is scheduled for 2037.

At the same time, another 1200 MW serial fast reactor, BN—1200M, with a sodium coolant, is being developed. It is based on decades of operational experience of the BN-350, BN-600 and BN-800. The launch of BN-1200M is planned earlier — in 2034, at the fifth power unit of the Beloyarsk NPP.

Together, these installations form a line of fast neutron reactors that will allow building a fully functional two—component nuclear power industry with a closed fuel cycle, from demonstration to serial implementation.

— How do you see the role of nuclear energy in the global energy sector in terms of climate and efficiency?

— The world today is looking for technologies with a low carbon footprint and high energy efficiency. According to both criteria, nuclear energy is already more than twice as fast as hydropower, and solar generation is about eight times faster. By offering an energy efficient and environmentally friendly reactor complex, we deliver not only kilowatt-hours, but also strategic confidence in resources, predictable tariffs, and resilience to climate and technological challenges.

The closed fuel cycle with fast reactors radically changes the attitude towards the "nuclear legacy" — we stop producing waste that is dangerous for thousands of years, and integrate nuclear energy into the paradigm of sustainable development.

— And finally, what would you like to say to young specialists who are just choosing their path in science and technology today?

— I always emphasize: "Breakthrough" is the beginning of a new stage, a new chapter in the development of global nuclear energy, and it will be written by the hands of today's young specialists. If you are interested in working at the intersection of fundamental physics, high technology, materials science, digital modeling and big engineering, this field has a great future.