- UAE shows interest in the technologies of the Beloyarsk NPP

- The virtual technical tour created by Russian specialists turns NPP visit into an immersive experience

- BN-800 reactor technologies of Beloyarsk NPP brings forward the transition to a closed nuclear fuel cycle and makes nuclear power practically inexhaustible.

Beloyarsk NPP specialists opened the doors to power unit No. 4 during the virtual technical tour organized for Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) representatives.

The participants were interested in the balanced fuel cycle and the importance of the BN-800 reactor technology in this process, the world's only industrial fast neutron reactor that uses nuclear materials and long-lived minor actinides extracted from spent nuclear fuel.

Eleven employees of the ENEC participated in the tour, including Fuel Supply Director Ahmed Saeed Ali Al-Shehhi and Vice President for Radioactive Waste Management Jamal Al Ahbabi. Natalia Tyutyunkova, a specialist of the International and Foreign Economic Cooperation Group of the Information and Public Relations Department of the Beloyarsk NPP, headed the tour with the support of Tenex JCS colleagues.

Beloyarsk NPP specialists created the tour thanks to the 3D space scanning technology, which gives a sense of presence in the premises of the power unit and immersion in the production process. The participants visited the engine and reactor departments. They also had a chance to see how the main control room operators monitor all the power unit systems and how they undergo constant training in the training center. With the help of computer graphics, tour participants got acquainted with the principles of operation of a fast reactor with a sodium coolant.

Traditionally, foreign partners are interested in getting information about the capabilities of the BN-800 reactor to operate on fuel made from plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel from other nuclear power plants and to produce fresh fuel for them. Thus, it helps to implement the transition to a new technological platform based on a balanced nuclear fuel cycle. This perspective makes nuclear power practically inexhaustible while simultaneously solving the problem of the accumulation of spent fuel from existing reactors.

For the UAE, the issue of spent nuclear fuel is becoming more relevant every year. In 2020, the United Arab Emirates launched Barakah nuclear power plant, the first NPP in the Arab region, 250 kilometers from Abu Dhabi. In 2025, when completed, the power capacity of all four power units of the plant will be 5.6 GW, which will provide about 25% of the country's electricity needs.