UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 16, 2015. Power generating unit 4 at Beloyarskaya Nuclear Power Station is expected to start operating on an industrial scale by the end of 2016, the station’s senior engineer Yuri Nosov says.

The unit is currently at its first launching stage, with the power start-up of the unique primary sodium fast reactor BN 800; the reactor will be used as a testing field for a number of closed cycle solutions. The nuclear launch took place in late July 2015.

‘We have by now received a new license for the power-generating unit, which allows us to commence the power start-up and gradually bring the reactor to 5%, 15%, 25%, 35%, and 50% of its capacity. This stage basically consists in switching the generator on and running it under supervision for seventy-two hours,’ Nosov says.

The engineer explains all the deadlines for every stage of the process have been set, so the reactor is to reach its industrial-scale capacity by the end of next year.

‘At this stage, we can see the reactor is operating safely and all the safety systems have been tested and proved efficient,’ he says.