Nuclear Energy WITHOUT WASTE: How to Close the Nuclear Cycle?

Russia is on the threshold of a nuclear energy revolution, launching the "Breakthrough" project to close the nuclear fuel cycle. This technology will enable the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, converting it into a new resource for fast neutron reactors and solving the problem of radioactive waste. Why are countries like France and China closely following Rosatom's successes, and what prospects does "zero-waste" nuclear energy offer for the world? Boris Martsinkevich examines in detail what MOX and MNUP fuel are, how a nuclear reactor works, and why this technology holds the future of global energy. Learn more in the new video. 00:00 What is a Closed Nuclear Fuel Cycle (CNFC)? 01:12 Nuclear Energy: Who Leads the World? (Russia, France, China) 01:36 Nuclear Renaissance 2025: Why is everyone building nuclear power plants again? 02:33 🤯 HALEU, MOX, SNUP: what do these terms mean? 04:33 Uranium enrichment: how it works and what are the IAEA limits? 05:22 Reactor Physics: What Happens in the Active Zone? 06:25 Chain fission reaction: how to avoid a nuclear explosion at a nuclear power plant 09:20 How do control rods work at nuclear power plants? 11:27 Transformation of Uranium-238: Why is it needed in a reactor? 12:49 How Uranium Becomes Plutonium (Transmutation) 15:04 Weapons-grade and reactor-grade plutonium: what's the difference? 15:58 What does spent nuclear fuel (SNF) actually contain? 18:03 MOX fuel: energy from waste 19:46 Nuclear Waste Problem: What is Radiation Equivalence? 20:43 Three approaches to spent nuclear fuel in the world: Russia, the United States, and everyone else 21:30 The Economics of Recycling: Why is it so Expensive and Complicated?