goingcritical:ebr-1United States · Research reactor
EBR-I
Status: Shut down reached first criticality August 24, 1951 Reactor status full glossary → Announced Publicly announced — a site and design are proposed, but construction has not begun. Site preparation Early site and civil works are under way; the first safety-related ("nuclear") concrete has not yet been poured. Under construction Formal construction has begun, marked by the first nuclear concrete. Fuel loaded Nuclear fuel has been loaded into the core. The reactor is fuelled but has not yet gone critical. Critical Has reached first criticality — a self-sustaining chain reaction, usually at low power — but is not yet connected to the grid. Grid connected Synchronised to the electrical grid and exporting power for the first time, but still in commissioning and power-ascension testing — not yet in commercial service. In commercial operation — the operator has formally declared the unit in regular commercial service. Shut down Permanently shut down and no longer generating; may be defuelled, undergoing decommissioning, or preserved in place. Canceled Abandoned before completion.
Site: National Reactor Testing Station (now INL), Idaho
First reactor to generate usable electricity from nuclear energy (four lightbulbs, December 20, 1951) and first breeder
Details
| Design | Sodium-potassium-cooled fast breeder reactor |
| Capacity | 200 kW (thermal where reported) |
Milestone history
- Announced —
- Construction start —
- Fuel load —
- First criticality August 24, 1951