A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid, which in turn runs through steam turbines. These either drive a ship's propellers or turn electrical generators' shafts. Nuclear generated steam in principle can be used for industrial process heat or for district heating. Some reactors are used to produce isotopes for medical and industrial use, or for production of weapons-grade plutonium. As of 2022, the International Atomic Energy Agency reports there are 422 nuclear power reactors and 223 nuclear research reactors in operation around the world.
The Nyongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center (녕변원자력연구소) is North Korea's major nuclear facility, operating its first nuclear reactors. It is located in Nyongbyon County in North Pyongan Province, about 100 km north of Pyongyang. The center produced the fissile material for North Korea's six nuclear weapon tests from 2006 to 2017, and since 2009 is developing indigenous light water reactor nuclear power station technology.
TRIGA is a class of nuclear research reactor designed and manufactured by General Atomics. The design team for TRIGA, which included Edward Teller, was led by the physicist Freeman Dyson.
Research reactors are nuclear fission-based nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or maritime propulsion.
The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant is a large commercial nuclear power plant located at the Paradise Point in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
The Chashma Nuclear Power Plant is a large commercial nuclear power plant located at Chashma in Mianwali, Punjab, Pakistan.
There are two nuclear research reactors that serve the Texas A&M University Nuclear Science Center. The older of the two is the AGN-201M model, a low-power teaching reactor. The newer reactor, the TRIGA Mark I, is focused strongly towards research.
The Maria reactor is Poland's second nuclear research reactor and is the only one still in use. It is located at Narodowe Centrum Badań Jądrowych (NCBJ) at Świerk-Otwock, near Warsaw and named in honor of Maria Skłodowska-Curie. It is the only reactor of Polish design.
Nuclear power is the fifth-largest source of electricity in India after coal, gas, hydroelectricity and wind power. As of November 2020, India has 22 nuclear reactors in operation in 8 nuclear power plants, with a total installed capacity of 7,380 MW. Nuclear power produced a total of 43 TWh in 2020–21, contributing 3.11% of total power generation in India. 10 more reactors are under construction with a combined generation capacity of 8,000 MW.
Iran's nuclear program is made up of a number of nuclear facilities, including nuclear reactors and various nuclear fuel cycle facilities.
The Pakistan Nuclear Power Fuel Complex (PNPFC), also known as Chemical Reprocessing Plant (CrP), is a nuclear energy and reprocessing industrial complex for the PWR-type reactors. The NPFC-I is a dual purpose nuclear power plant, with a net capacity of 1000 MWe, located 175 km south of Islamabad. The reactor is designed for converting U3O8 to natural UF6, and enriched UF6 into UO2 powder, then converted depleted UF6 into depleted uranium metal and produced zircon ingot. The PNPFC is ingeniously constructed by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) under the IAEA terms, as IAEA is funding this megaproject.
IR-40 also known as Arak Nuclear Complex is an Iranian 40 megawatt (thermal) heavy water reactor near Arak, adjacent to the 1990s era Arak Heavy Water Production Plant. Civil works for the construction began in October 2004. It was initially planned that the reactor would begin nuclear operations in 2014.
The Pakistan Atomic Research Reactor or (PARR) are two nuclear research reactors and two other experimental neutron sources located in the PINSTECH Laboratory, Nilore, Islamabad, Pakistan.
The Washington State University Reactor (WSUR) is housed in the Dodgen Research Facility, and was completed in 1961. The (then) Washington State College Reactor was the brainchild of Harold W. Dodgen, a former researcher on the Manhattan Project where he earned his PhD from 1943 to 1946. He secured funding for the ambitious 'Reactor Project' from the National Science Foundation, the Atomic Energy Commission, and the College administration totaling $479,000. Dodgen's basis for constructing a reactor was that the College was primely located as a training facility for the Hanford site, as well as Idaho National Laboratory because there was no other research reactor in the West at that time. After completing the extensive application and design process with the help of contractors from General Electric they broke ground in August 1957 and the first criticality was achieved on March 7, 1961 at a power level of 1W. They gradually increased power over the next year to achieve their maximum licensed operating power of 100 kW.
The Regional Center for Nuclear Studies in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo,, prior to 1970 known as the Trico Center, houses the TRICO I and TRICO II nuclear research reactors. TRICO I was the first nuclear reactor on the African continent.
ETRR-2 or ET-RR-2, or is the second nuclear reactor in Egypt supplied by the Argentine company Investigacion Aplicada (INVAP) in 1992. The reactor is owned and operated by Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA) at the Nuclear Research Center in Inshas, 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of Cairo.
The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) is a government agency under the Department of Science and Technology mandated to undertake research and development activities in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, institute regulations on the said uses, and carry out the enforcement of said regulations to protect the health and safety of radiation workers and the general public.
The Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1) is a nuclear research reactor located in Accra, Ghana and is the only nuclear reactor in the country. It is operated by the National Nuclear Research Institute, a sub-division of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission. The reactor is a commercial version of the Chinese Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) design. The reactor had its first criticality on December 17, 1994.
The Nigeria research reactor (NIRR-1) is a nuclear research reactor located in Zaria, Nigeria. The reactor is located at the Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT), part of Ahmadu Bello University. The reactor had its first criticality in 2004 and is the only nuclear reactor currently operating in Nigeria.
