On the sidelines of the 70th IAEA General Conference (GC70), an international round table entitled “Shaping the Future of Innovative Nuclear Energy Systems: The Potential of Shared Research Infrastructure” was held. The event was organized by JSC Rosatom Energy Projects (REP), JSC Proryv and IRC MBIR Consortium Leader LLC with the support of the IAEA.

The event brought together nuclear industry stakeholders and leading research centres. The round table was attended by representatives of the IAEA, the Arab Atomic Energy Agency (AAEA), the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE), the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM) and the Cambodian organization Cam-Atom, as well as experts from the BRICS Nuclear Platform, JSC REP, JSC Proryv and the Scientific and Engineering Centre for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (SEC NRS).

The discussion focused on building a shared vision of the research infrastructure needed to develop a two-component nuclear energy system. Participants agreed that innovative technologies – including fast neutron reactors with nuclear fuel recycling and transmutation of minor actinides, as well as controlled thermonuclear fusion – can dramatically expand the resource base of the energy sector while reducing its environmental footprint. However, deploying such energy systems requires a new experimental base. It must support in-pile testing of advanced structural and fuel materials, post-irradiation examination, and modelling of the closed nuclear fuel cycle (CNFC) at every stage – from conceptual assessments to the confirmation of high technology readiness levels.

As the centrepiece of this new infrastructure, the Russian side presented the Multipurpose Fast Research Reactor (MBIR), a 150 MW sodium-cooled reactor under construction in Dimitrovgrad. MBIR will provide the world’s highest fast neutron flux density for testing in various media (sodium, lead, helium) for Generation IV systems, small modular reactors (SMRs) and fusion. The International Research Centre established on its basis offers the global community flexible access to this unique platform throughout the entire life cycle of advanced energy systems.

The discussion also highlighted the expanding cooperation with the IAEA on fast and research reactors, which confirms the status of the Rosatom State Corporation as a leading technology partner able to offer comprehensive solutions – from the supply of innovative reactors to the provision of an advanced testing base.

The round table concluded with a landmark event: the signing of a cooperation agreement between IRC MBIR Consortium Leader LLC and SEC NRS. The agreement aims to develop long-term scientific and technical cooperation to ensure the nuclear and radiation safety of advanced nuclear energy systems. It makes it possible to provide scientific and technical expert review at the very earliest stage of planning experimental research at the MBIR reactor, thereby building a sufficient safety case for new advanced technologies.

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MBIR is a multipurpose sodium-cooled fast neutron research reactor with a thermal capacity of 150 MW. The reactor is being built in Dimitrovgrad at the site of JSC State Scientific Centre – Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (JSC SSC RIAR, part of the Scientific Division of the Rosatom State Corporation) under the national technological leadership project “New Nuclear and Energy Technologies”. Installation of the reactor’s primary circuit equipment is currently under way: in 2025, the cold traps of the emergency heat removal system circuit were installed in their design position. As part of the primary circuit installation, the hot pipeline adapters and the first pipeline units were welded to the reactor vessel, installation of the main process equipment in the sodium storage building was completed, and the refuelling mechanism and the steam-water washing cells for spent fuel assemblies were delivered. In 2026, two emergency heat exchangers, each weighing 7.3 tonnes, 5 m high and 1.5 m in diameter, were installed in their design position.

MBIR is designed for experimental research, radioisotope production, manufacturing of modified materials, and testing of new types of equipment and process systems. The unique capabilities of the new reactor are expected to accelerate the development of technologies for a two-component nuclear energy system and for closing the nuclear fuel cycle, as well as the creation of safe Generation IV nuclear power plants.

The International Research Centre (IRC) has been established on the basis of the MBIR reactor in the form of an international consortium. Its members have priority access to conduct the experiments required for their national programmes for the peaceful use of atomic energy. The consortium format allows flexible use of reactor resources in line with the needs of the scientific community. The IRC MBIR Consortium is open to new members. The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Chinese company Shanghai ZDAN International have already joined the Consortium.