en.Wedoany.com Reported - The first stage of concrete pouring for the turbine generator foundation of Russia's BREST-OD-300 lead-cooled fast reactor has been completed. Builders poured 578 cubic meters of heavy concrete. By using 36 spring vibration isolators, this foundation will reduce vibration loads from the turbine unit on foundation columns and other process equipment. The concrete will reach the required strength within two weeks, after which installers will begin mounting the support plates for the turbine generator.
In autumn, once the concrete achieves the required strength, builders plan to begin installing the main power equipment—a turbine generator with an electrical capacity of 300 MWe. The reactor is being constructed at the Siberian Chemical Combine (Sibirskovo Khimicheskovo Kombinata, SKhK) in Seversk, Tomsk Oblast, as part of the Pilot Demonstration Power Complex (Opitno Demonstratsionovo Energo-Kompleksa, ODEK).
Construction of the nuclear island continues. By the end of 2025, builders had installed the shell of the reactor vessel central cavity (where the core is located), as well as the shells of the cavities surrounding the steam generators and lead coolant circulation pumps. In the near future, the spaces between the cavities will be filled with special heat-resistant concrete to ensure the structural integrity of the primary circuit boundary and provide reliable thermal and radiation protection for the power unit.
The BREST-OD-300 is being built as part of the "Proryv" (Breakthrough) project, aimed at demonstrating closed fuel cycle technology. In addition to BREST, ODEK includes on-site nuclear fuel cycle facilities, encompassing a fuel fabrication and refabrication module, as well as a module for irradiated fuel reprocessing and recycling. The fuel fabrication facility was commissioned in December 2024. Assembly of the reactor vessel is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Rosatom initially planned to launch the reactor in 2026, but due to the need for additional research and development work, the startup has now been postponed to 2029.
In the future, Rosatom plans to upgrade the BREST-OD-300 reactor unit to the BR-1200 with a capacity of 1200 MWe. According to Russia's plan for power generation facilities through 2042, eight BR-1200 reactor units will be built at new sites—two at the Reftinskaya Nuclear Power Plant (Sverdlovsk Oblast), two at the South Urals Nuclear Power Plant (Chelyabinsk Oblast), two at the Severskaya Nuclear Power Plant, and two at the Siberian Nuclear Power Plant (Irkutsk Oblast). Additionally, around 2035, Rosatom expects to prepare an export version of these fourth-generation power complexes.
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