The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) detailed a meeting of its Technical Working Group on Fast Reactors that took place in Obninsk, Russisa, in a report on Wednesday.
The group consisted of representatives from 24 member states and three international organizations. During their meeting the group discussed developments in reactor technology and representatives also detailed ongoing activity in this area within their respective countries.
The IAEA had reported their activity since the previous meeting of the working group that included the development of safety design criteria and guidelines for sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFR). During this time a collaborative project on radioactive releases in a hypothetical severe accident situation for an SFR was also launched. Attendants had the opportunity to discuss technical documents and studies on experimental facilities relating to neutron systems using liquid metal cooling methods.
"We have seen significant achievements and new initiatives in the area of fast reactors”, Stefano Monti, the group's scientific secretary, said. "Interest in fast reactor technology is increasing in both countries with active programs and those that have not yet started a program but are considering fast reactors in the long term, as a necessary step towards a more sustainable nuclear energy deployment."
Russia reported that their BN-600 SFR had shown to have an 86 percent load factor in tests conducted last year. They also report that a BN-800 unit will be commissioned in 2016.
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