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Beloyarsk NPP BN-600 Unit 3 Reaches Full Power After Maintenance, New Liquid Sodium Electromagnetic Pump Commissioned

Recently, Unit 3 of the Beloyarsk NPP equipped with the BN-600 reactor reached 100% power after scheduled maintenance. More than 1,000 employees participated in the maintenance, from the nuclear power plant's maintenance department, Uralatomenergoremont, and other contracting organizations. It is understood that the main work during the outage included: completing the refueling of 120 fuel assemblies containing nuclear fuel, performing major overhaul of the reactor facility and replacing 9 guide tubes of the control and protection system, as well as performing major overhaul of generator No. 6. One of the most important modernization efforts was the replacement of the electromagnetic pump (EMN, electromagnetic pump) used for transporting liquid metal sodium in the secondary loop.

2026-10-13

MIPT and U.S. Partners Develop Precise Method for Calculating Nuclear Power Plant Seismic Resistance

Recently, the Science Communication Center of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) reported that Russian and American researchers have jointly developed a method capable of precisely calculating the seismic resistance of nuclear power plants, taking into account the heterogeneous structure of reinforced concrete, including the presence of individual rebar within walls and domes. The new method helps improve nuclear power plant safety by accounting for differences in how different types of seismic waves act on reinforced concrete. Alena Favorskaya, a lead researcher at MIPT, stated that the study explicitly identifies metal rebar as heterogeneities in the computational domain rather than averaging them; the grid-characteristic method (gr...

2026-10-13

Rosenergoatom and Ural Federal University Jointly Establish a Fast Reactor Talent Training Center

Rosenergoatom, the power division of Rosatom, and Yeltsin Ural Federal University (UrFU) have recently jointly established a Fast Neutron Reactor Talent Training Center. The center will unify and coordinate eight educational tracks across the Ural Power Engineering Institute, the Institute of Physics and Technology, and the Institute of Chemical Technology, with Oleg Tashlykov, professor of the Department of Nuclear Power Plants and Renewable Energy Sources at Ural Federal University, serving as its head. The core goal of establishing the center is to build a sound professional talent training system for fast neutron reactor nuclear power units, with the primary task being to supply operational and engineering backbone personnel for the planned BN-1200M unit at the Beloyarsk NPP...

2026-10-12

The 20th International Nuclear Forum Concludes in Obninsk: Focusing on Nuclear Emergency Preparedness and Response, Rosatom Showcases Nearly 3,000 Professional Emergency Responders

With the support of the Public Council of Rosatom, the 20th International Nuclear Forum "Nuclear Technology Safety: Emergency Preparedness and Response," hosted by the Rosatom Technical Academy, successfully concluded on October 9, 2026, in Obninsk. As the birthplace of the world's first nuclear power plant, Obninsk hosted this milestone annual international event for the first time. The forum attracted more than 100 nuclear safety and emergency experts from Russia and abroad. In addition to Rosatom, the Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervision (Rostechnadzor), Rosenergoatom, the Rosatom Emergency Technical Center, and the NPO Typhoon research and production association...

2026-10-12

Russia Completes Qualification Tests of ITER First Wall Tungsten Lining, Advancing Development of Key Components for International Thermonuclear Fusion

The Efremov Institute of Electrophysical Apparatus (NIIEFA), a subsidiary of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, recently successfully completed the qualification testing phase of tungsten materials for the first wall lining of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). This testing aimed to verify the feasibility of the selected technical solution. The expert team completed vacuum rapid brazing of the tungsten lining, robotic ultrasonic inspection, and rigorous thermal cycling tests, laying a solid foundation for subsequent mass production of key components. As the physical boundary between the scorching plasma and the main reactor equipment in a tokamak device, the first wall lining must protect the equipment from high-energy particle bombardment while...

2026-10-10

Global Major SMR Project Progress Review

As of now, global SMR competition has already formed several different tiers: Linglong One is advancing pre-operational testing, Darlington and Russia's land-based projects have entered the construction phase, Clinch River has just crossed the threshold for a U.S. commercial SMR construction permit, Long Mott is still under licensing review, and representative projects in the UK and South Korea are mainly advancing design and regulatory approval. In subsequent comparisons of these projects, the most valuable indicators will be first fuel load, first criticality, first grid connection, commercial operation, and whether construction can be replicated after the first-of-a-kind unit. Project progress: China's Linglong One is one of the more advanced projects among land-based SMR commercial demonstration projects. In December 2025, the project completed non-nuclear steam testing, verifying the functions of conventional island-related systems; public information in early 2026 shows that the project is still conducting pre-operational testing. The project adopts a 125 MWe pressurized water reactor design, mainly targeting applications such as power generation, heating, industrial steam, and seawater desalination.

2026-10-09

Large-Scale Nuclear Emergency Exercise Held at Russia's Beloyarsk NPP: Simulating Response to Concurrent Dual-Reactor Accident

The Beloyarsk NPP in Russia's Sverdlovsk Region launched a two-day comprehensive nuclear emergency exercise on October 6, 2026. The exercise is based on a hypothetical scenario of a natural disaster compounded by a reactor safety system failure, with a focus on emergency response and cross-departmental coordinated handling capabilities when two nuclear reactors experience severe accidents simultaneously. The exercise is being conducted simultaneously at the Beloyarsk NPP site and the neighboring city of Zarechny, and is the largest annual comprehensive nuclear emergency drill in the Russian nuclear industry system and the Ural Federal District. Beloy...

2026-10-08

Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences Discovers a New Phase Transition in Cesium Plasma: Abrupt Conductivity Jump and a Rare Double Critical Point

A research team from the Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences (JIHT RAS / ОИВТ РАН) has achieved an important physics advance in the study of extreme high-temperature and high-pressure states: researchers have discovered a previously undescribed phase transition in cesium (Cesium) under dense plasma conditions, accompanied by a dramatic jump-like change in electrical conductivity. The study focuses on the microscopic physical behavior of matter at temperatures from 500 to 20,000 Kelvin (K) and pressures ranging from about 1 hectopascal (hPa) to several terapascals (TPa). Under such severe extreme conditions, interatomic distances are greatly compressed, matter undergoes multiple deep ionizations, and the traditional criteria for distinguishing solid, liquid, and gas states can no longer...

2026-10-08

Russian Scholars Analyze the Technical Secrets Behind the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics: How IceCube Uses Photomultiplier Tubes to Capture Neutrino Tracks

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for a major scientific discovery in the field of astrophysical high-energy neutrino detection. The key engineering foundation that made this historic breakthrough possible is a giant scientific facility located near the South Pole——the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The facility uses nearly 1 cubic kilometer of highly transparent deep Antarctic ice as a natural detection medium, and densely arrays thousands of digital optical modules deep within the ice. Genrikh Scheibler, senior researcher and Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at the Institute of Semiconductor Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISP SB RAS), has...

2026-10-08

Rosatom Completes Installation of Two Moisture Separator Reheaters for the Conventional Island of the BREST-OD-300 Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor

Rosatom announced on October 7, 2026 that at the construction site of the innovative BREST-OD-300 nuclear power unit in Seversk, Tomsk Oblast, a key milestone breakthrough has been achieved in the installation of core main equipment in the conventional island (turbine island) building, with two large moisture separator reheaters (MSR) successfully hoisted into their design-basis positions. The two moisture separator reheaters installed this time are core large heat exchange equipment of the conventional island of a dual-loop nuclear power plant, each with a height of 16 meters and a net weight of 95 tons. The core function of this equipment is to...

2026-10-08

Russia's Kurchatov Institute to Receive 5.7 Billion Rubles in Fiscal Budget Support: Focusing on Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion and Advanced Plasma Technology R&D

The National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute" will receive approximately 5.7 billion Rubles in dedicated funding support from the Russian federal budget during the period from 2027 to 2029. This fiscal allocation will be specifically used to advance key technology breakthroughs in Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion, as well as the R&D and experimental validation of innovative Plasma Technologies. The above funding plan is explicitly stated in the draft explanatory document of the 2027–2029 federal budget bill published in the electronic database of the Russian State Duma...

2026-10-03

Experts from 18 Countries Discuss Research Planning for Russia's MBIR Fast Reactor International Research Center: Focusing on Closed Fuel Cycle and Mega-Science Engineering Synergy

At the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan (INP AS RUz), the third meeting of the Advisory Council of the International Research Center (IRC MBIR), established on the basis of the Multi-purpose Fast Neutron Research Reactor (MBIR), was officially convened. The meeting attracted more than 150...

2026-10-03

Rosatom Proposes New VVER-1000 Nuclear Power Unit to Armenia

Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom, recently stated in Yerevan that the company has submitted specific proposals to the Armenian government for the construction of a gigawatt-class VVER-1000 nuclear power unit. The proposal is based on an assessment of Armenia's electricity demand through 2040 and plans to adopt Russia's mature pressurized water reactor technology, the VVER-1000, which features Generation 3+ safety systems and competitive electricity pricing advantages, and has already been built and commissioned in Russia, India, Iran, and other countries. The Russian side calls this option the optimal choice for the international market and is willing to develop the project into a comprehensive cooperation project attracting international suppliers. Previously, Likhachev held talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and...

2026-10-03

Indonesia Plans to Finalize the Site of Its First Nuclear Power Plant by 2027 at the Latest: Technologies from the United States, South Korea, Japan, and Russia Shortlisted for Cooperation Consideration

Elen Setiadi, Deputy Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Coordination at Indonesia's Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, stated on September 30 in Jakarta that the Indonesian government is comprehensively advancing the construction project of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and plans to officially finalize the construction site in 2026, or by 2027 at the latest. Indonesia aims to fully integrate advanced nuclear power into its national medium- and long-term energy supply strategy, using stable and abundant baseload electricity to support sustained domestic economic growth and industrialization transformation. At the World Resources Institute Indonesia (W...

2026-10-02

Russia is conducting high-level technical consultations with Iran on the construction of brand-new nuclear power plants

According to a comprehensive report by Azerbaijan News Network (AzerNews) and several mainstream Iranian media outlets, Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom, recently disclosed to the media in Yerevan, Armenia that Russia is conducting high-level technical consultations with Iran on the construction of brand-new nuclear power plants, with the cooperation planning scope covering both large commercial reactor types and small modular reactors (SMRs). At the same time, Rosatom's engineering team is conducting comprehensive geological and engineering assessments of multiple candidate new sites in Iran that have the conditions for nuclear power grid connection. Likhachev specifically pointed out that the strategic binding between Moscow and Tehran in the field of civilian nuclear energy...

2026-09-30