Pilot fuel elements for the Generation IV MBIR multipurpose fast neutron research reactor under construction in Russia have passed acceptance tests, allowing state nuclear corporation Rosatom researchers to move on to production of fuel for the initial loading of the reactor core.
Rosatom said the pilot fuel elements had been manufactured by researchers in the fuel technology department of the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (NIIAR), part of its scientific division.
The MBIR is being built at NIIAR, in Dimitrovgrad, southwest Russia, as part of a Russian government programme to develop nuclear science and technology. It is scheduled for completion in 2026 and physical startup for 2027.