Rosatom Places MBIR Research Reactor Container in Design Location

The vessel of MBIR, the world's largest Multi-Purpose Rapid Productive Research Reactor, is placed in its design position. The placement of the reactor vessel in the design position was carried out at the RIAR construction site within the scientific unit “Science and Innovation Inc.” of Rosatom, the Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation, in Dimitrovgrad, in the Ulyanovsk region of Russia.

Placing the vessel is one of the most important steps in the assembly of the reactor, as it will complete the reactor dome assembly.

Yuri Olenin, Rosatom's Executive Vice President of Science and Strategy, said:

“Placing the reactor vessel in its design location is a significant result of the work of a large team of scientists, engineers, designers and builders, and represents an important milestone in the MBIR reactor construction project. This step brings us closer to the installation of reactor equipment and the completion of ongoing construction. Placing the reactor vessel means we will soon have an advanced research infrastructure that will advance bicomponent nuclear power engineering technology studies and our efforts to shut down the fuel cycle. The move will help accelerate the implementation of safe fourth-generation nuclear power plants and will encourage groundbreaking research for the next 50 years. Offering a comprehensive range of neutron research possible in terms of both neutron energy and possible research objects, Rosatom's MBIR research rector and Russia's 'megascience' project, the Kurchatov Institute's PIK reactor, complement each other.”

The MBIR reactor vessel is a unique structure with a length of 12 meters, a diameter of 4 meters and a weight of more than 83 tons. The reactor vessel was delivered to the site in April 2022, 16 months ahead of schedule. The equipment was manufactured at Rosatom's Atommash plant in Volgodonsk, Rostov Region, Russia.

Reactor construction at the RIAR site will expand the science and production capabilities of both Rosatom and the nuclear industry as a whole over the next 50 years. In addition, it will make it possible to carry out socially important projects with the construction of many new small houses for highly qualified specialists and scientists.

Approximately 1400 people, including engineers and technical personnel, and more than 80 construction machines work at the construction site.

MBIR, a multipurpose fourth-generation fast neutron research reactor, is being built as part of a project called RTTN, which aims to advance nuclear science and technology. MBIR will become the most powerful (150 MW) research reactor in the world upon commissioning and replace the BOR-60 reactor, which is in great demand today and has been operating at the RIAR site for more than half a century.