The initial BN-1200 project was rejected in 2015 due to the lack of competitive advantage in the market (vs the usual PWR type reactors).[2] By 2024 the design was updated to get it more competitive and now it is called BN-1200M.[3] Since 2022 the rising prices of uranium have made sodium-cooled fast reactors even more attractive.[4][5]
Background
Fast reactors of the BN series use a core running on enriched fuels including highly (80%) or medium (20%) enriched uranium or plutonium. This design produces many neutrons that escape the core area. These neutrons create additional reactions in a "blanket" of material, normally natural or depleted uranium or thorium, where new plutonium- or 233 U, respectively, atoms are formed. These atoms have distinct chemical behavior and can be extracted from the blanket through reprocessing. The resulting plutonium metal can then be mixed with other fuels and used in conventional reactor designs.
For the breeding reaction to produce more fuel than it uses, neutrons released from the core must retain significant energy. Additionally, as the core is very compact, the heating loads are high. These requirements led to the use of a liquid sodium coolant, as this is an excellent conductor of heat, and is largely transparent to neutrons. Sodium is highly reactive, and careful design is needed to build a primary cooling loop that can operate safely. Alternate designs use lead.
Although the plutonium produced by breeders is useful for weapons, more traditional designs, notably the graphite-moderated reactor, generate plutonium more easily. However, these designs deliberately operate at low energy levels for safety reasons, and are not economic for power generation. The breeder's ability to produce more new fuel than was spent while also producing electricity makes it economically interesting (it uses 99% of uranium energy, instead of 1%). However, to date the low cost of uranium fuel has made this unattractive, as it is four times cheaper than the BN600.[citation needed]
History
Previous designs
The government began experiments with breeders in the 1960s. In 1973, the first prototype of a power-producing reactor was constructed, the BN-350 reactor, which operated until 1999.[6]
Construction of BN-800 (a pool type LMFBR reactor) began in 1984, but after Chernobyl disaster was put on hold, later in 1990-s the construction was frozen due to economic situation, in 2006 the construction was started again.[11] The plant reached its full power production in August 2016.[12]
A similar reactor Superphénix has operated in France from 1985 until 1998.[13]
Design concept
The design features a breeding ratio of 1.15, surpassing the BN-800's breeding ratio of 1.[14] Both oxide and nitride fuels are being evaluated for its core.[15] The design evolved to adopt a simpler fueling procedure than the BN-600 and BN-800 designs.[16] The refuelling period will be 330 days, unlike the BN-800, which has a 180-day interval.[14]
In April 2025, the licence for the construction of a BN-1200M at Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station was issued.[18] By July 2025, the preparatory phase for construction had commenced.[19]
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