Yesterday, March 15, the TASS news outlet, citing its sources, reported that scientists from the Central Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering, which is part of Rosatom, have officially created a unique unit of its kind necessary for the world’s first reactor at base of lead coolant BREST-OD-300. This development is a main circulation pump responsible for pumping molten metal inside the system. Accordingly, the bureau’s specialists sent the first model of the new unit to Siberia, where it is planned to build a new type of future reactor.
“Successful assembly of a prototype of the main circular pumping unit and its shipment is the result of many years of work and an important milestone on the way to the creation of serial pumps for the BREST-OD-300 reactor plant. This facility is a key element of the future reactor. The creation of this installation solves the issue of a technological breakthrough in nuclear energy,” said Igor Burtsev, Director General of TsKBM.
The authors of the project recalled that the first power unit with the BREST-OD-300 reactor should be built at a special site of the Siberian Chemical Plant in the Tomsk Region – this is a task within the framework of the Breakthrough strategic project. Igor Burtsev noted that the uniqueness of the reactor lies in the fact that it is lead that will be used as a coolant inside the reactor plant, which was simply not the case in world practice before. This is a completely unusual development, which can largely determine the development of the industry in the world. And the main circular pumping unit, which was designed and assembled in the Leningrad Region, makes it possible to pump molten lead along the reactor circuit.
At the same time, experts note that the use of metal as a coolant is much safer than nuclear fuel, and safety in this matter is in the first place. In addition, if everything goes according to plan, the first tests of the new unit are planned to be completed by the end of this year, thanks to which specialists will be able to improve the final design and finalize new pumping units. After that, four production models and the main pump will be manufactured, which will go straight to be installed on the BREST-OD-300 reactor. Perhaps in the future such reactors will be able to replace nuclear power plants.