China and Russia have announced a long-term deal to continue developing fast-neutron nuclear power reactors and closing the nuclear fuel cycle.
Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom said the agreement was signed on 21 March on the sidelines of the state visit to Russia of China’s president Xi Jinping.
The document was signed by Rosatom director-general Alexey Likhachev and Zhang Kejian, chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority.
Fast neutron reactors are said to offer more efficient use of uranium resources and the ability to burn actinides – chemical elements which are otherwise the long-lived component of high-level nuclear waste.
…