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The status of work on the development of a 1200 MW sodium-cooled reactor facility for serial construction is presented. The general characteristics of the facility and the power-generating unit as well as the objectives which must be attained as a result of the design are presented. The design of the power-generating group is based on solutions some of which have been checked during the operation of sodium-cooled reactors in Russia and some have been validated by the appropriate research and development work performed for BN-800. At the same time, new solutions are used which are aimed at improving the technical-economic indicators and increasing the level of safety. Additional R&D work will be needed to validate them.The nuclear future of Russia and most other countries developing nuclear power involves fast reactors and a closed fuel cycle. Thus far only sodium-cooled fast reactors are ready for commercial adoption on a wide scale. In our country, we have more than 50 years of experience in developing and successfully operating such reactors: BR-5 (1959) → BR-10 (1973-2002) → BOR-60 (1969 -in operation) → BN-350 (1973-1998) → BN-600 (1980 -in operation) → BN-800 (under construction). A design of an advanced power-generating unit with a sodium-cooled BN-1200 reactor as the foundation for the initial step in the serial construction of reactors of this type is under development.Target Indicators of Reactor Facility and Power-Generating Unit Design. The development of a power-generating unit must meet the following requirements set for new-generation reactors and nuclear power plants:1) competitiveness with advanced power-generating unit based on reactors of a different type and power-generating units operating on fossil fuel;2) safety increased to a level that makes it unnecessary to take measures to protect the general public outside the borders of the nuclear power plant site for any possible accidents;3) attainment of breeding ratios from 1.2 (stage 1) to 1.3-1.35 (stage 2) using mixed oxide fuel and 1.45 with nitride fuel; 4) reducing the construction time for serially built power-generating units to 48 months; and 5) possibility of introducing a series of reactors in 2-3 years after the startup of the main power-generating unit.

Experience in operating the BN-600 sodium-cooled fast reactor during its nominal service life as well as its service life extension period, an additional 15 years, is described. Information is presented on the performance indicators which were achieved and deviations from the normal operating regime which occurred when the reactor was first started up. The degree to which they affect the safety and technicaleconomic performance of the facility is evaluated. It is concluded on the basis of an analysis of the BN-600 operating experience that sodium-cooled fast reactors have now been mastered commercially and that their prospects for further development are good.April 8, 2010 marks 30 years since power startup of the No. 3 unit of the Beloyarskaya nuclear power plant with the BN-600 reactor. This reactor is the only such power reactor operating in the world at the present time. Moreover, this is the first commercial power-generating unit with a sodium-cooled fast reactor operating in a commercial regime anywhere in the world.The successful operation of the BN-600 reactor is confirmation of the leading position that our country now enjoys in the field of sodium-cooled fast reactors. The completion of the nominal operating period of the power-generation unit, equal to 30 years, is an important milestone, a time for summing up the operation and determining the future prospects of the BN-600 reactor itself and the direction as a whole.BN-600 Operation during the Nominal Service Period. The experience gained in operating the BN-600 reactor is of scientific and practical interest [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. The design of the commercial BN-600 power-generating unit incorporates the positive experience accumulated in our country in the development, construction, and operation of preceding facilities with sodium-cooled fast reactors -BR-5/BR-10, BOR-60, and BN-350. Problems which became apparent during the initial period of mastering this reactor technology were also taken into account in the development of the BN-600 design; therefore BN-600 can be viewed as the next step in the development and realization at the commercial level of sodium-cooled fast reactors.

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The main stages of the development of sodium-cooled fast reactors in Russia are described. The statistical information on the deviations from the normal regime of functioning that occur in BOR-60 and BN-600 operation is presented. The important role of BN-600 at the Beloyarskaya nuclear power plant in the validation of sodiumcooled fast reactors is shown. A conclusion is drawn on the basis of a review of the operating experience about the level of mastery of sodium-cooled fast reactors in Russia and the prospects for further development of such reactors are analyzed taking account of this experience.The present article is devoted to an analysis of the operating experience gained with sodium-cooled fast reactors from the standpoint of developing and mastering such reactor technology as well as the prospects for its subsequent development. Sodium-cooled fast reactors were mastered on the basis of R&D work and taking account of operating experience. In turn, the performance indicators attained attest to the quality of the development and level of mastery of this reactor technology as a whole.Stages of Assimilation of Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors. The work on sodium-cooled fast reactors began in our country in the second half of the 20th century. The results were as follows:• the research fast reactor BR-5/10 (