The French ASTRID (Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration), is now in its design stage, with the construction expected to start in 2020. France has a track record in operating sodium-cooled fast breeder reactors Phenix and Super Phenix. They have been decommissioned, and the Russian BN-600 reactor at Beloyarsk NPP Unit 3 is the only opportunity for France to obtain test data on new fuel elements for ASTRID.
Russia has arguably the most extensive expertise in operating fast reactors. The first fast reactors at Beloyarsk NPP were AMB-100 and AMB-200, now shut down due to the expiry of their service lives. At present, the only commercial fast reactor in the world is BN-600 launched in 1980. In 2010, BN-600 celebrated its 30th birthday and was shut down for two and a half months – this time was enough to perform scheduled maintenance and implement a set of measures to extend its rated life. Over 400 technicians from contracting companies assisted Beloyarsk NPP staff. The scope of maintenance at BN-600 included replacement of steam generators and water pipes, repairs of a main circulation pump and a steam turbine, improvement of seismic resistance, and upgrade of other engineering systems. In April 2010, Beloyarsk NPP obtained a permit to extend the BN-600 service life till 31 March 2020.
A new BN-800 fast reactor is scheduled to be launched at Beloyarsk NPP later this year.
As part of the agreement on peaceful uses of nuclear power between Rosatom and the French Atomic Energy Commission, French delegates visited Beloyarsk NPP and inspected the fuel management system at BN-600-based Unit 3. During the visit, the French-Russian working group discussed terms and conditions of testing fuel elements for the new French-designed ASTRID fast reactor in the Russian BN-600 reactor.
Cooperation in the area began two years ago. “French partners were demonstrated the end-to-end process of BN-600 fuel management – from taking fresh fuel from the storage site to sending spent fuel to the reprocessing facility,” said Valery Shamanskiy, a deputy chief engineer for safety at Beloyarsk NPP.
According to him, the French partners studied Russian regulatory requirements and technical possibilities. “Fuel elements will be produced in France and packed in Russian fuel assemblies at the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (RIAR) in Dimitrovgrad. The fuel assemblies will then serve the required period in the BN-600 core. Post-irradiation studies of the fuel will provide French engineers with data on its reliability and suitability for ASTRID,” explained Valery Shamanskiy.
The partnership between the French Atomic Energy Commission and Beloyarsk NPP is a win-win situation as 2,000 tons of sodium, a liquid metal coolant for BN-800, were produced in France possessing a well established technology for the production of reactor sodium.
