OREANDA-NEWS. May 25, 2007. Nice (France) hosted an international congress on advances in nuclear power plants. The congress was organized by SFEN (French Nuclear Energy Society) with the support of CEA. Deputy Director General of Rosenergoatom Oleg Sarayev took part in the congress.

The title of the congress “Nuclear Renaissance at Work” reflects the situation developing in the world nuclear power sector after the recent statements by the presidents of the US, France and Russia about the necessity to develop nuclear energy on the basis of a new technological platform.

Attending the congress were representatives of governmental agencies, research institutes, private companies and international organizations engaged in nuclear power engineering.

The congress discussed the prospects of so-called advanced reactors, particularly, the possible use of high temperature reactor technologies for hydrogen production and the development of fast breeder reactors.

Today, the world nuclear powers have a big experience in sodium cooled fast reactor production. Some of the speakers noted that the Russian BN-600 is a good example of this type of reactor. One such reactor has been successfully operated at Beloyarsk NPP (Russia) for as many as 27 years.

Among the other topics were materials and fuel for new projects, control systems, testing and management, closed fuel cycle.

Sarayev reported about the development of innovative technologies in Russia in the framework of the Federal Target Program “Development of Nuclear Power Complex.”

Almost 400 people from 36 countries took part in the congress. The US, South Korea, China, Japan, India and France have the biggest delegations. Those countries are the leaders in advanced nuclear power technologies. In this light, Sarayev said: “It would be very useful for Russia to enlarge its presence at such international forums, especially now that it has extensive nuclear energy development plans. For this purpose, we should more clearly specify our goals and enhance the level of our participation.”