Currently, Rosatom and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus are discussing the possibility of implementing a project on cooperation in the design, construction and operation of the Center for Nuclear Research and Technologies based on a multifunctional research nuclear reactor in the Republic of Belarus. The Center will include a research nuclear facility with a multi-purpose pool-type reactor with a capacity of up to 20 MW; a radiochemical complex for the treatment of medical isotopes developed at the research reactor; a material science complex providing post-reactor studies of structural materials and samples; a site for nuclear silicon doping; an engineering and technological complex.
In their welcoming addresses, First Vice Chairman of the NASB Presidium Sergei Chizhik and President of Rosatom Overseas Evgeny Pakermanov emphasized the importance of the partnership of the two countries in the field of the construction of the first Belarusian NPP and told about the prospects for the implementation of the project on the development of nuclear technologies on the basis of a modern Center for Nuclear Research and Technologies.
Sergei Chizhik told that the Republic of Belarus had extensive experience in a research reactor operation. “The construction of a new reactor and a research center will make a significant contribution to the efficiency and safety of operation of the Belarusian NPP being under construction. It will be possible to train personnel for a nuclear power plant, perform various studies in the field of nuclear energy, produce demanded radioisotope products, work on improving the methodology of radiation and environmental monitoring at the Center,” Sergei Chizhik said. According to Evgeny Pakermanov, the implementation of the project of the Center construction in the Republic of Belarus will create opportunities for further development of a number of sectors of the economy, such as healthcare, industry and agriculture. “Rosatom has significant experience in the design, construction, operation, maintenance and modernization of research reactors, and we expect that agreements on the establishment of the Center in the Republic of Belarus will be reached in the near future,” Evgeny Pakermanov said.
More than 120 nuclear research reactors have been built with the Rosatom support; 22 projects of the centers based on research reactors have been implemented abroad, namely in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Egypt, Poland, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and other countries. Currently, Rosatom operates about 20% of all research reactors in the world.