3 ms·
> the economics for fast reactors have never worked (not even in Russia or China) Russia currently has two sodium-cooled fast reactors that are producing power
by morning_gelato 5y ago
> the economics for fast reactors have never worked (not even in Russia or China)
Russia currently has two sodium-cooled fast reactors that are producing power, the BN-600 and BN-800. They also have another sodium reactor under development, the BN-1200. BREST-OD-300, a lead-cooled fast reactor, is under construction as well.
- apendleton 5y agoBut those don't have to be economical purely on power generation, right, because they also produce Pu-239? Presumably fast breeder reactors would be useful to the Russian state even if they didn't produce electricity at all...
- morning_gelato 5y agoThere's no evidence that they are being used to breed plutonium. In fact the BN-800 burns a mixture of uranium and plutonium to reduce their weapons stockpile.
- baybal2 5y agoThey have RBMKs which will produce 10 times that, and more cheaply.
- petre 5y agoThey went bankrupt with their arsenal once, so I'd argue it would be more useful to their rivals.