Overview
- Putin said the system is designed to reuse about 95% of spent fuel multiple times, a move he argued would sharply cut radioactive waste and ease future uranium supply pressures.
- An International Research Centre in the Ulyanovsk Region will test advanced materials for the closed cycle, with Russia inviting scientists from other countries to participate.
- The announcement came at the Global Atomic Forum during World Atomic Week in Moscow, which drew IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and thousands of delegates from over 100 countries.
- Putin called for new financing models for nuclear projects, highlighting the BRICS New Development Bank’s stated readiness to fund nuclear ventures and a BRICS Nuclear Energy Platform created last year.
- IAEA Deputy Director General Mikhail Chudakov said Russian work on fast‑neutron reactors could neutralize the most hazardous waste by burning minor actinides, describing the outcome as “green” energy.