KNK II nuclear power plant
Gross capacity
21MW
KNK II nuclear power plant is a fast reactor unit at KNK II nuclear power plant in Germany rated at 21 MW gross. It is retired. Commercial operation began 3 Mar 1979.
Specification
| Reactor type | Fast reactor (FBR) |
|---|---|
| Model | Prototype |
| Size | Small300 MWe or less |
| Coolant | Liquid sodium or lead |
| Moderator | None |
| Gross capacity | 21MW |
| Net capacity (reference) | 17MW |
| Net capacity (design) | 18MW |
| Thermal output | 58MWt |
| NSSS vendor | not on record |
| Typical enrichment | 15–20% fissile, or plutonium |
Ownership & location
| Site | KNK II nuclear power plant |
|---|---|
| Unit | not stated |
| Country | Germany |
| Owner | Karlsruhe Institute For Technology100% |
| Operator | Kernkraftwerk-Betriebsgesellschaft |
| Coordinates | 49.0967, 8.4398approximate |
Fuel chain for this unit
Fuel form
Mixed oxide or metallic fuel
Enrichment
15–20% fissile, or plutonium
Who makes this assembly
- TVEL Fuel Company Fast reactor fuel, including MOX
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utilities do not publish fuel contracts.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 Sep 1974Construction start
- 10 Oct 1977First criticality
- 9 Apr 1978Grid connection
- 3 Mar 1979Commercial operation
- 23 Aug 1991Permanent shutdown
Other Prototype units
5 units worldwide share this model designation.
| Unit | Country | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|---|
| BR3 nuclear power plant 3 | Belgium | Retired | 12 |
| Carolinas-Virginia Tube Reactor nuclear power plant | United States | Retired | 19 |
| 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 2024-05-14
- 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