Rosatom Says Seversk Fast Reactor Project Will Demonstrate Russia's Nuclear Technology Capabilities

Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said that if the nuclear power project under construction in Seversk, Tomsk Oblast, is put into operation before 2030, it will demonstrate Russia's capabilities in new nuclear technologies.

Likhachev noted at a video conference on nuclear energy development that the Seversk project has drawn attention from the international nuclear community. The project involves the construction of a 300 MW experimental demonstration energy complex, with the "BREST" lead-cooled fast neutron reactor as its core equipment, aiming to achieve a closed nuclear fuel cycle.

According to the introduction, the complex will include spent nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities and fresh nuclear fuel fabrication facilities on the same site. Likhachev stated that Rosatom plans to replicate and scale up the relevant technologies on this basis, further building gigawatt-level industrial energy complexes equipped with higher-power fast neutron reactors.

Likhachev said that such new nuclear energy systems feature enhanced safety, can utilize uranium-238 resources, and address nuclear waste issues through a closed fuel cycle. He also stated that Rosatom no longer relies on imports for the production of reactor equipment at nuclear power plants, and that its mechanical engineering holding company has mastered the full range of manufacturing processes for key nuclear island equipment.