Editing Breeder reactor (section)

==Future plants==
[[File:CEFR (04790005).jpg|thumb|The Chinese Experimental Fast Reactor is a 65 [[watt#Multiples|MW]] (thermal), 20 MW (electric), sodium-cooled, pool-type reactor with a 30-year design lifetime and a target [[burnup]] of 100 MWd/kg.]]

=== India ===
India has been trying to develop fast breeder reactors for decades but suffered repeated delays.<ref>{{cite web |title=India's First Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor Has a New Deadline. Should We Trust It? – the Wire Science |date=20 August 2020 |url=https://science.thewire.in/economy/energy/prototype-fast-breeder-reactor-dae-bhavini-npcil-liquid-sodium-coolant-purchase-orders/}}</ref> By December 2024 the [[Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor]] is due to be completed and commissioned.<ref>{{cite news |last=Srikanth |title=80% of work on fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam over |work=The Hindu |location=Kalpakkam |date=27 November 2011 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/80-of-work-on-fast-breeder-reactor-at-kalpakkam-over/article2663329.ece |access-date=25 March 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128073219/http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article2663329.ece |archive-date=28 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Jaganathan |first=Venkatachari |title=India's new fast-breeder on track, nuclear power from September next |work=Hindustan Times |location=Chennai |date=11 May 2011 |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/chennai/India-s-new-fast-breeder-on-track-nuclear-power-from-September-next/Article1-542155.aspx |url-status=dead |access-date=25 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513232646/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/chennai/India-s-new-fast-breeder-on-track-nuclear-power-from-September-next/Article1-542155.aspx |archive-date=13 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=India's first Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor in final stages of commissioning |website=The New Indian Express |date=30 October 2020 |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2020/oct/30/indias-first-prototype-fast-breeder-reactor-in-final-stages-of-commissioning-2217153.html |access-date=2021-09-20 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920213133/https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2020/oct/30/indias-first-prototype-fast-breeder-reactor-in-final-stages-of-commissioning-2217153.html |archive-date=20 September 2021}}</ref> The program is intended to use fertile thorium-232 to breed fissile uranium-233. India is also pursuing thorium thermal breeder reactor technology. India's focus on thorium is due to the nation's large reserves, though known worldwide reserves of thorium are four times those of uranium. India's Department of Atomic Energy said in 2007 that it would simultaneously construct four more breeder reactors of 500&nbsp;MWe each including two at [[Kalpakkam]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Home – India Defence |url=http://www.india-defence.com/reports/2854 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111124050043/http://www.india-defence.com/reports/2854 |archive-date=24 November 2011}}</ref>{{update inline|date=May 2018}}

[[BHAVINI]], an Indian nuclear power company, was established in 2003 to construct, commission, and operate all stage&nbsp;II fast breeder reactors outlined in [[India's three-stage nuclear power programme]]. To advance these plans, the [[FBR-600]] is a pool-type sodium-cooled reactor with a rating of 600 MWe.<ref>Conceptual Design of PFBR Core

S.M. Lee, S Govindarajan, R. Indira, T.M. John, P. Mohanakrishnan, R. Shankar Singh, S B. Bhoje

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam, India https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/28/014/28014318.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920212757/https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/28/014/28014318.pdf |date=20 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=FBR-600 - India's Next-gen Commercial Fast Breeder Reactor [CFBR] |url=https://www.aame.in/2015/10/fbr-600-india-next-gen-commercial-fast.html |access-date=2021-09-20 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920213243/https://www.aame.in/2015/10/fbr-600-india-next-gen-commercial-fast.html |archive-date=20 September 2021}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

=== China ===
The [[China Experimental Fast Reactor]] is a 25&nbsp;MW(e) prototype for the planned China Prototype Fast Reactor.<ref>{{cite web |title=IAEA Fast Reactor Database |url=http://www.iaea.org/inisnkm/nkm/aws/frdb/fulltext/13_fastReactorDesigns.pdf#CEFR |access-date=13 March 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628235135/http://www.iaea.org/inisnkm/nkm/aws/frdb/fulltext/13_fastReactorDesigns.pdf#CEFR |archive-date=28 June 2011}}</ref> It started generating power in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=China's experimental fast neutron reactor begins generating power |publisher=xinhuanet |date=July 2011 |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-07/21/c_131000739.htm |access-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407042906/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-07/21/c_131000739.htm |archive-date=7 April 2016}}</ref> China initiated a research and development project in thorium molten-salt thermal breeder-reactor technology (liquid fluoride thorium reactor), formally announced at the [[Chinese Academy of Sciences]] annual conference in 2011. Its ultimate target was to investigate and develop a thorium-based molten salt nuclear system over about 20 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=The future of nuclear power plant safety "are not picky eaters" |first=Xu |last=Qimin |language=zh |date=26 January 2011 |url=http://whb.news365.com.cn/yw/201101/t20110126_2944856.htm |access-date=30 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717035636/http://whb.news365.com.cn/yw/201101/t20110126_2944856.htm |archive-date=17 July 2012 |quote=Yesterday, as the Chinese Academy of Sciences of the first to start one of the strategic leader in science and technology projects, "the future of advanced nuclear fission energy – nuclear energy, thorium-based molten salt reactor system" project was officially launched. The scientific goal is 20 years or so, developed a new generation of nuclear energy systems, all the technical level reached in the test and have all the intellectual property rights.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Clark |first=Duncan |title=China enters race to develop nuclear energy from thorium |work=Environment Blog |publisher=The Guardian (UK) |location=London |date=16 February 2011 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2011/feb/16/china-nuclear-thorium |access-date=30 October 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519070806/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2011/feb/16/china-nuclear-thorium |archive-date=19 May 2017}}</ref>{{update inline|date=May 2018}}

=== South Korea ===
South Korea is developing a design for a standardized modular FBR for export, to complement the standardized pressurized water reactor and [[CANDU reactor|CANDU]] designs they have already developed and built, but has not yet committed to building a prototype.
[[File:BN-600 nuclear reactor.jpg|thumb|A cutaway model of the BN-600 reactor, superseded by the [[BN-800 reactor]] family]]

[[File:BN-800 construction.jpg|thumb|Construction of the BN-800 reactor]]

=== Russia ===
Russia has a plan for increasing its fleet of fast breeder reactors significantly. A BN-800 reactor (800&nbsp;MWe) at [[Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station|Beloyarsk]] was completed in 2012, succeeding a smaller [[BN-600 reactor|BN-600]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Белоярская АЭС: начался выход БН-800 на минимальный уровень мощности |publisher=AtomInfo.ru |url=http://atominfo.ru/newsi/p0401.htm |access-date=27 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630200015/http://atominfo.ru/newsi/p0401.htm |archive-date=30 June 2014}}</ref> It reached its full power production in 2016.<ref name="fullpower">{{cite web |title=Russian fast reactor reaches full power |url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Russian-fast-reactor-reaches-full-power-1708165.html |access-date=27 October 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027125917/http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Russian-fast-reactor-reaches-full-power-1708165.html |archive-date=27 October 2017}}</ref> Plans for the construction of a larger [[BN-1200 reactor]] (1,200&nbsp;MWe) was scheduled for completion in 2018, with two additional BN-1200 reactors built by the end of 2030.<ref>{{cite web |title=До 2030 в России намечено строительство трёх энергоблоков с реакторами БН-1200 |publisher=AtomInfo.ru |url=http://atominfo.ru/newsi/p0662.htm |access-date=27 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805100047/http://atominfo.ru/newsi/p0662.htm |archive-date=5 August 2014}}</ref> However, in 2015 [[Rosenergoatom]] postponed construction indefinitely to allow fuel design to be improved after more experience of operating the BN-800 reactor, and among cost concerns.<ref name="wnn-20150416">{{cite news |title=Russia postpones BN-1200 in order to improve fuel design |publisher=World Nuclear News |date=16 April 2015 |url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Russia-postpones-BN-1200-in-order-to-improve-fuel-design-16041502.html |access-date=19 April 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621085931/http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Russia-postpones-BN-1200-in-order-to-improve-fuel-design-16041502.html |archive-date=21 June 2015}}</ref>

An experimental lead-cooled fast reactor, [[BREST (Reactor)|BREST-300]] will be built at the [[Siberian Chemical Combine]] in [[Seversk]]. The BREST ({{langx|ru|bystry reaktor so svintsovym teplonositelem|italics=yes}}, {{langx|en|fast reactor with lead coolant}}) design is seen as a successor to the BN series and the 300&nbsp;MWe unit at the SCC could be the forerunner to a 1,200&nbsp;MWe version for wide deployment as a commercial power generation unit. The development program is as part of an Advanced Nuclear Technologies Federal Program 2010–2020 that seeks to exploit fast reactors for uranium efficiency while 'burning' radioactive substances that would otherwise be disposed of as waste. Its core would measure about 2.3 metres in diameter by 1.1 metres in height and contain 16 tonnes of fuel. The unit would be refuelled every year, with each fuel element spending five years in total within the core. Lead coolant temperature would be around 540&nbsp;°C, giving a high efficiency of 43%, primary heat production of 700&nbsp;MWt yielding electrical power of 300&nbsp;MWe. The operational lifespan of the unit could be 60 years. The design was expected to be completed by NIKIET in 2014 for construction between 2016 and 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fast moves for nuclear development in Siberia |publisher=World Nuclear Association |url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN_Fast_moves_for_nuclear_development_in_Siberia_0410121.html |access-date=8 October 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012025225/http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN_Fast_moves_for_nuclear_development_in_Siberia_0410121.html |archive-date=12 October 2012}}</ref> 
By the end of 2024 the cooling tower had been built, and the target for starting operation was 2026.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

=== Japan ===
In 2006 the United States, France, and Japan signed an "arrangement" to research and develop sodium-cooled fast reactors in support of the [[Global Nuclear Energy Partnership]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Department of Energy – Generation IV International Forum Signs Agreement to Collaborate on Sodium Cooled Fast Reactors |url=https://www.energy.gov/news/3218.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420215727/http://www.energy.gov/news/3218.htm |archive-date=20 April 2008}}</ref> In 2007 the Japanese government selected [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]] as the "core company in FBR development in Japan". Shortly thereafter, [[Mitsubishi FBR Systems]] was launched to develop and eventually sell FBR technology.<ref>{{cite web |title=MHI launches fast breeder group |work=Nuclear Engineering International |date=2 July 2007 |url=https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsmhi-launches-fast-breeder-group-721 |access-date=13 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070728025205/http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?sectionCode=132&storyCode=2045341 |url-status=live |archive-date=28 July 2007}}</ref>

[[File:CEA Marcoule Site.jpg|thumb|The [[Marcoule Nuclear Site]] in France, location of the [[Phénix]] (on the left)]]

=== France ===
In 2010 the French government allocated {{Euro}}651.6&nbsp;million to the [[Commissariat à l'énergie atomique]] to finalize the design of [[ASTRID (reactor)|ASTRID]] (Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration), a 600&nbsp;MW fourth-generation reactor design to be finalized in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=French government puts up funds for Astrid |author=World Nuclear News |date=16 September 2010 |url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=28382 |access-date=15 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714131532/http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=28382 |archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Quatrième génération: vers un nucléaire durable |publisher=CEA |language=fr |url=http://www.cea.fr/content/download/33852/575120/file/Reacteurs-generation-4-CEA.pdf |access-date=15 June 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603174020/http://www.cea.fr/content/download/33852/575120/file/Reacteurs-generation-4-CEA.pdf |archive-date=3 June 2012}}</ref> {{as of|2013}} the UK had shown interest in the [[PRISM (reactor)|PRISM]] reactor and was working in concert with France to develop ASTRID. In 2019, [[French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission|CEA]] announced this design would not be built before mid-century.<ref>{{cite news |title=France drops plans to build sodium-cooled nuclear reactor |work=Reuters |language=en |date=30 August 2019 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-nuclearpower-astrid-idUSKCN1VK0MC |access-date=20 November 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924151926/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-nuclearpower-astrid-idUSKCN1VK0MC |archive-date=24 September 2019}}</ref>

=== United States ===
Kirk Sorensen, former NASA scientist and chief nuclear technologist at [[Teledyne Brown Engineering]], has long been a promoter of thorium fuel cycle and particularly liquid fluoride thorium reactors. In 2011, Sorensen founded Flibe Energy, a company aimed to develop 20–50&nbsp;MW LFTR reactor designs to power military bases.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flibe Energy |url=http://flibe-energy.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207043957/http://flibe-energy.com/ |archive-date=7 February 2013 |access-date=29 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=23 May 2011 |title=Kirk Sorensen has started a Thorium Power company Flibe Energy |url=https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2011/05/kirk-sorensen-has-started-thorium-power.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026201509/http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/05/kirk-sorensen-has-started-thorium-power.html |archive-date=26 October 2011 |access-date=30 October 2011 |publisher=The Next Bi Future}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=7 September 2001 |title=Live chat: nuclear thorium technologist Kirk Sorensen |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2011/sep/07/live-web-chat-nuclear-kirk-sorensen |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715094622/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2011/sep/07/live-web-chat-nuclear-kirk-sorensen |archive-date=15 July 2014 |access-date=30 October 2011 |work=Environment Blog |publisher=The Guardian (UK) |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Martin |first=William T. |date=27 September 2011 |title=New Huntsville company to build thorium-based nuclear reactors |url=http://www.huntsvillenewswire.com/2011/09/27/huntsville-company-build-thoriumbased-nuclear-reactors/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406184105/http://www.huntsvillenewswire.com/2011/09/27/huntsville-company-build-thoriumbased-nuclear-reactors/ |archive-date=6 April 2012 |access-date=30 October 2011 |publisher=Huntsville Newswire}}</ref>

In October 2010 [[GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy]] signed a [[memorandum of understanding]] with the operators of the [[United States Department of Energy|US Department of Energy's]] [[Savannah River Site]], which should allow the construction of a demonstration plant based on the company's [[S-PRISM]] fast breeder reactor prior to the design receiving full [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission]] licensing approval.<ref name="wnn281010">{{cite news |title=Prototype Prism proposed for Savannah River |work=World Nuclear News |date=28 October 2010 |url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Prototype_Prism_proposed_for_Savannah_River-2810104.html |access-date=4 November 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128080359/http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Prototype_Prism_proposed_for_Savannah_River-2810104.html |archive-date=28 January 2019}}</ref> In October 2011 ''[[The Independent]]'' reported that the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and senior advisers within the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) had asked for technical and financial details of PRISM, partly as a means of reducing the country's plutonium stockpile.<ref>{{cite news |title=New life for old idea that could dissolve our nuclear waste |work=The Independent |location=London |first=Steve |last=Connor |date=28 October 2011 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/new-life-for-old-idea-that-could-dissolve-our-nuclear-waste-2376882.html |access-date=30 October 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111029131943/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/new-life-for-old-idea-that-could-dissolve-our-nuclear-waste-2376882.html |archive-date=29 October 2011}}</ref>

The [[traveling wave reactor]] proposed in a patent by [[Intellectual Ventures]] is a fast breeder reactor designed to not need fuel reprocessing during the decades-long lifetime of the reactor. The breed-burn wave in the TWR design does not move from one end of the reactor to the other but gradually from the inside out. Moreover, as the fuel's composition changes through nuclear transmutation, fuel rods are continually reshuffled within the core to optimize the neutron flux and fuel usage at any given point in time. Thus, instead of letting the wave propagate through the fuel, the fuel itself is moved through a largely stationary burn wave. This is contrary to many media reports, which have popularized the concept as a candle-like reactor with a burn region that moves down a stick of fuel. By replacing a static core configuration with an actively managed "standing wave" or "soliton" core, [[TerraPower]]'s design avoids the problem of cooling a highly variable burn region. Under this scenario, the reconfiguration of fuel rods is accomplished remotely by robotic devices; the containment vessel remains closed during the procedure, and there is no associated downtime.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=TR10: Traveling Wave Reactor |magazine=Technology Review |date=March 2009 |url=http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/22114/ |access-date=6 March 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504090500/http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/22114/ |archive-date=4 May 2012}}</ref>