I have blogged in the past about the Russian dedication to the creation of fast breeder reactors for the production of nuclear fuel to compete with mined and refined or recovered uranium nuclear fuel. Russia is working on exporting nuclear reactors to developing countries. Control of the actual nuclear fuel required to fuel the exported Russian reactors would give Russia total control over the energy generated by the reactors. It is obvious from past behavior that Russia would consider using that control to leverage political support from their clients.
Rosatom, the Russian government corporation that oversees nuclear power generation in Russia, was represented by its deputy director, Vyacheslav Pershukov at the International Atomic Agency's General Conference that convened in Vienna last week. Pershukov took the opportunity to discuss the Russian plans for its International Research Center (IRC) which will be based on the multipurpose sodium-cooled fast neutron research reactor (the Russian acronym for this reactor is MBIR). The IRC will be located at the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors in Dimitrovgrad and the estimated price of the project is one billion dollars. The Russian government has already dedicated three hundred million dollars to the project.
Rosatom is seeking investors for the IRC project. In addition to just getting the extra money needed, getting other countries or nuclear companies to join their research project will increase the global support for the idea of fast breeder reactors supplying nuclear fuel. Russia needs foreign markets to justify its massive investment in fast breeder technology. The "early bird" special that Russia is running for investment in the IRC is valued in percentages of the MBIR's flux. Ten million dollars will equal one percent of the MBIR project. That one percent will be set equivalent to twelve displacements per atom in a cube about four inches on a side. This has to do with the effect of neutron bombardment on the atoms in a material. After 2020, the cost of a one percent share of MBIR will be thirty six million dollars. In return for not only money but also in-kind contributions such as supplying equipment and involvement in the creation and operation of the research program, investors will receive access to the equipment and research programs at the IRC. If enough investors cannot be found, then the Russian government will make up the difference.
The IRC will probably have to be run as a not-for-profit organization. The Rosatom representatives at the conference conceded that research reactors have never turned a profit or even broke even on covering expenses. They pointed out that the international nuclear community has been able to put competition aside and cooperate on huge projects such as the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) for nuclear fusion research. They feel that smaller projects such as MBIR also deserve to be the focus of international cooperation. Investors in the project will be able to work on designing reactors to their own specifications and will be able to sell or share their research with non-member companies and countries.
Russia has a bad record of dealing with safety in its pursuit of nuclear technology. Given the rampant corruption in Russia, it is virtually certain that sooner or later there will be major accidents in Russia's pursuit of fast breeders reactors and nuclear fuel generation. Russia is currently heading in a totalitarian direction. If the hard-liners such as Putin dispense with the fiction of democracy and openly seize control, then there is a danger that, just as Chernobyl, the Russian government will lie and try to cover up any major nuclear accident. It is doubtful that their response to such an accident will be adequate.
Artists concept of the Russian International Research Center:
