However, money has been provided only for design of the nuclear research reactor and building of its nuclear island. ROSATOM started promoting MBIR on the international scale well in advance along with the search and involvement of potential participants of the international center and future research service users well in advance. Many countries show interest in research at MBIR.
The multi-purpose research fast neutron reactor MBIR is built on the site of SRC NIIAR in Dimitrovgrad (Ulyanovsk Region) in frames of the federal target program “Nuclear power technologies of the new generation in 2010–2015 and until 2020”. The MBIR reactor is most potent of the existing, constructed and designed in the world. It is called for to replace the research fast neutron reactor BOR-60 built nearly half a century ago, and to significantly expand experimental capabilities of the Russian research equipment.
The MBIR technical characteristics and unique consumer are aimed at solving a broad array of research problems to justify long-term development of nuclear power and closing the nuclear fuel cycle. Besides, the reactor can be used to other needs, not only the needs of the nuclear industry: new functional materials and radioisotopes are in demand in medicine, electronics, space industry and machine engineering.
There are in fact no alternatives to MBIR in the world. BOR-60 is coming to the end of its assigned service life and fully loaded with orders. The Chinese CEFR is not a research reactor, it is a demonstration reactor aimed to test sodium-cooled fast reactor technologies and operation techniques by the Chinese specialists.
The project principal contractor is Uralenergostroy, which now finishes construction and commissioning of Unit 4 of Beloyarsk NPP with the fast neutron reactor BN-800. Under the signed general contract, by December 2019 Uralenergostroy is to do a large volume of work totaling about RUB 5.2 billion. The site preparation has already started.
Alexander Tuzov, the Director of MBIR Project and Deputy Director of Innovations Management at ROSATOM, notes that MBIR is “a complex project, which is to be implemented within a very tough schedule, shortage of funds and the management structure which is changing as the implementation goes.”
The MBIR project team implements a set of measures aimed at reducing the construction costs. They use not only optimization of architectural and planning concepts and engineering solutions, implementation of open RPS projects at factories and design offices, search for similar products and alternative vendors, but also direct dialogues with the equipment manufacturers and vendors. An ambitious goal of the optimization activities has been declared, i.e. to save RUB 34 billion in the 2014 prices, but the significant result of this work will be the cost reduction by 15-20% with the simultaneous improvement of confidence of the cost estimates.
In the search of partners and customers
Since 2011 ROSATOM annually has held international science and technology workshops and invited representatives of foreign states, potential participants and users of IRC MBIR.
By date, four science and technology workshops have been held. They were attended by representatives of the USA (U.S. DOE, ANL, Terra Power), France (CEA), South Korea (KAERI), Japan (JAEA), China (CEFR) and Czech Republic (Center REZ). At the workshops the participants were provided with topical information on technical characteristics and experimental capabilities of the MBIR reactor and research complex on its base, as well as the IRC MBIR concept. One of results of this activity was the signing by ROSATOM, U.S. Department of Energy and CEA of France of a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the cooperation in establishment of IRC MBIR (June 2013, St. Petersburg) and preliminary agreement on the main areas of the research program in the framework of IRC MBIR (November 2013, Dimitrovgrad).
In September 2014 at the 58th General Conference of the IAEA ROSATOM announced the Russian vision of the IRC MBIR concept to the broad international public, and in November 2014, at another international science and technology workshop, specialists from South Korea expressed keen interest in conducting research at MBIR. In 2015 ROSATOM plans for active international activities to broaden the pool of MBIR customers and to identify specific programs of experiments and to sign corresponding international agreements with already existing partners.
A financial and economic pattern of operation of the research installation MBIR already exists. Projected operational costs are quite comparable with the current expenditures for operation of BOR-60 reactor with a provision for higher power capacity and broader experimental capabilities. This is very attractive as compared to foreign powerful research reactors. Certainly, experiments at MBIR will cost more than at BOR-60. However, the existing reactor paid off long ago and the cost of irradiation in BOR-60 was always slightly underestimated, according to Alexander Tuzov. “One can and has to pay much for unique scientific and technological results,” the MBIR project director is confident.
