Titan-2 contracted to build Russia’s Brest 300 reactor 26 November 2019 26 November 2019

Russia’s Titan-2 has received a RUB26.4 billion ($413m) general contract for the construction at the Siberian Chemical Combine (SCC) in Seversk of the Brest-OD-300 reactor, Interfax reported on 22 November, citing the procurement website of state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

According to the schedule, the construction licence is planned to be obtained at the end of December and the project should be completed in 2026. Glavgosexpertiza approved the project in December 2018. Titan-2 is general contractor for the construction of new power units at the Leningrad NPP and is the main contractor for the construction of Hanhikivi 1 NPP in Finland and the Akkuyu NPP in Turkey. In December 2017, nuclear utility Rosenergoatom (part of Rosatom) acquired 50% of the voting shares of Titan-2.

Brest-OD-300 is a demonstration lead-cooled fast-neutron reactor unit, with an on-site nuclear fuel cycle, which is part of an experimental demonstration power complex (ODEC) under the Proryv project for the development of closed fuel cycle technology, which began in 2011. The complex will include a fuel fabrication/refabrication module (MFR) for producing dense uranium-plutonium (nitride) fuel, and a fuel recycling unit.

Construction of the MFR started in August 2014 and it was initially scheduled for completion by 2018. The reactor was expected to start up in 2020, and the fuel processing unit in 2022. The project has now been rescheduled with the fuel fabrication module now scheduled to for completion in 2021, the Brest reactor in 2026 and the recycling module in 2028.

The construction and assembly work on the MFR in 2019 was estimated at about RUB3bn. The subcontracting organisations, led by the general contractor, LLC US BASP, were instructed in January to complete preparation of the premises to begin installation of the equipment. Construction of the main industrial buildings of the MFR was completed in 2018 and the supply of the main process equipment by SverdNIIhimmash was completed. Also in 2018, SCC began training operational personnel for the ODEC power complex.

SCC is also compiling a radioecological Atlas of the environment within the 30km zone of the Combine to establish the radiation situation before the commissioning of the ODEC facilities. The work is being supported by the Rosatom Innovation and Technology Centre of the Proryv Project, the All-Russian Research Institute of Radioecology and Agroecology, All-Russian Research Institute of Forestry and Forestry Mechanisation, the station of the Tomsk agrochemical service and the Federal Science and Technology Centre for Geodesy, Cartography and Spatial Data Infrastructure. For two years, in 2017 and 2018, the research institutes were engaged in sampling of fields, forests, lands, soils, soil, waterways, bottom sediments, vegetation, and wildlife. The atlas will contain information on radionuclides and chemicals in the components of agricultural, forest and aquatic ecosystems; results of biota and population dose assessments; and characteristics of soils of agricultural enterprises located in the area of ??the ODEC.

Photo: BREST (Credit: Rosatom)