BR3 nuclear power plant 3
Gross capacity
12MW
BR3 nuclear power plant 3 is a pressurised water reactor unit at BR3 nuclear power plant in Belgium rated at 12 MW gross. It is retired. Commercial operation began 10 Oct 1962.
Specification
| Reactor type | Pressurised water reactor (PWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | Prototype |
| Size | Very small20 MWe or less |
| Coolant | Light water |
| Moderator | Light water |
| Gross capacity | 12MW |
| Net capacity (reference) | 10MW |
| Net capacity (design) | 11MW |
| Thermal output | 41MWt |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Typical enrichment | 3–5% U-235 |
Ownership & location
| Site | BR3 nuclear power plant |
|---|---|
| Unit | 3 |
| Country | Belgium |
| Owner | Studiecentrum Voor Kernenergie100% Centre D'Etude De L'Energie Nucleaire |
| Operator | Centre D'Etude De L'Energie Nucleaire Studiecentrum Voor Kernenergie |
| Coordinates | 51.2169, 5.0998 |
Fuel chain for this unit
Fuel form
Uranium dioxide pellets in zirconium-alloy cladding
Enrichment
3–5% U-235
Who makes this assembly
- China National Nuclear Corporation PWR fuel assemblies
- ENUSA Industrias Avanzadas PWR and BWR fuel assemblies
- Framatome PWR fuel assemblies
- KEPCO Nuclear Fuel PWR fuel assemblies
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries PWR fuel assemblies
- Westinghouse Electric Company PWR fuel assemblies
Upstream
Enriched fuel means this unit sits downstream of five conversion plants and four enrichment operators holding 88% of world capacity between the top three.
Fabricator capability is recorded against reactor type and model line, not against named units,
utilities do not publish fuel contracts. See the fuel chain.
Timeline
- 1 Nov 1957Construction start
- 29 Aug 1962First criticality
- 10 Oct 1962Grid connection
- 10 Oct 1962Commercial operation
- 30 Jun 1987Permanent shutdown
Other Prototype units
5 units worldwide share this model designation.
| Unit | Country | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carolinas-Virginia Tube Reactor nuclear power plant | United States | Retired | 19 |
| KNK II nuclear power plant | Germany | Retired | 21 |
| Kalpakkam nuclear power plant PFBR | India | Under construction | 500 |
| Pathfinder nuclear power plant | United States | Retired | 63 |
Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06 · this unit last researched by GEM on 2024-05-08
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) , CC BY-SA 4.0, linked, not quoted
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data