goingcritical:superphenixFrance · Power reactor
Superphénix / Creys-Malville
Status: Shut down reached first criticality September 7, 1985 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: Creys-Malville, Isère
The world's first full-scale commercial sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor, on the Rhône near Creys-Malville. First went critical on 7 September 1985. Plagued by sodium leaks, legal challenges, and low availability, it operated only intermittently. Permanently shut down by government decree on 30 December 1998 (having last operated in December 1996).
Details
| Design | Sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor (FBR) |
| Electrical output | 1,242 MWe |
Milestone history
- Announced —
- Construction start 1976
- Fuel load —
- First criticality September 7, 1985
- Grid connection January 14, 1986
- Commercial operation —