Preparations have begun in Russia to build Unit 5 of the Beloyarsk nuclear power station with first concrete pouring scheduled for 2027.

Beloyarsk-5 will be a BN-1200M sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor. Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said it will be the first operational, mass-built power unit equipped with a Generation IV* reactor.

Russia began the Beloyarsk-5 project in 2009 and completed the basic design in 2012. In 2015, construction was delayed because Rosatom said it needed to improve the reactor’s fuel and reassess the economic viability of the project.