Development of Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors Under Modern Conditions: Challenges and Stimuli

Abstract

The factors that can promote stable development of sodium-cooled fast reactors with mixed uranium and plutonium fuel under conditions of variable demand for atomic energy, types and magnitude of NFC services in the domestic and foreign markets are examined. The possibility of effective control of the balance of plutonium in a two-component nuclear power system with possible change in the demand for electricity and nuclear fuel of reactors built at home and abroad is shown for the example of an analysis of variants for managing fuel in an industrial power-fuel complex with BN-1200 (PEK-BN). It is noted that high-quality plutonium, which can be produced in PEK-BN, for repeated recycling in the VVER system with uranium and mixed uranium plutonium fuel, plays a fundamental role, and promising directions for expanding the fuel business of the State Corporation Rosatom by providing new types of services on the domestic and foreign markets are noted.