On September 25, 2025, on the sidelines of the World Atomic Week International Forum, a ceremony was held to sign a contract between the Republican Unitary Enterprise “Belarusian NPP” and JSC “Techsnabexport” (part of the State Corporation “Rosatom”) to ensure the safe handling of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from Belarusian NPP.
The document was signed by Sergei Polgorodnik, Director General of JSC “Techsnabexport”, and Sergei Bobovich, Director General of the Republican Unitary Enterprise “Belarusian NPP”.
This contract is a crucial step in the development of bilateral relations between the countries in the field of nuclear energy and the world's first commercial agreement that puts into practice the concept of the Balanced Nuclear Fuel Cycle (BNFC) in terms of handling spent nuclear fuel from NPPs with VVER reactor units.
The contract covers the entire design life of the Belarusian NPP and includes both the obligations of Russian enterprises to accept SNF for reprocessing and the obligations of Belarusian enterprises to accept waste from SNF reprocessing. The nomenclature and activity of the returned waste from SNF reprocessing are determined according to the methodology agreed upon by the parties to the contract, approved by the regulatory authorities of Russia and the Republic of Belarus, based on the principle of equivalence of the activity of SNF imported into the Russian Federation for the purpose of reprocessing and the activity of waste from its reprocessing returned to the Republic of Belarus, ensuring safe, environmentally responsible and cost-effective handling.
In accordance with the SBNFC concept, the complex of services being implemented for Belarusian NPP will eliminate the need for complex and expensive deep disposal facilities for radioactive waste from SNF reprocessing in the Republic of Belarus, and will also enable the use of regenerated nuclear materials in the nuclear fuel cycle.
By utilizing innovative Russian technologies, Belarusian nuclear industry is becoming part of solutions for closing the nuclear fuel cycle to achieve sustainable development of the global nuclear energy sector.
