Frances has tried hard to build breeders and failed with the expensive Feonix and Superfeonix reactors and quite. Japan's Monju breeder was being constructed and tested for over 2 decades and has only produced 1 hour of power. In Dec 1995 and Aug 2010 it had two different accident (one of them a fire), which have basically killed the project. Russia's military and secret breeder program seems to be closed down.
There are currently no breeder reactors operating anywhere in the world despite tens of billions in prototypes and production models have been attempted.
Breeders use liquid sodium coolant, which burns in air and explodes in water. This has lead many to call these types of reactors "inherently dangerous"
See this document as to why breeders are still a proliferation risk.
http://www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/background/ieerpyroprocessing5172001.txtMr Branson says American companies would like to commercialize this technology and are prepared to begin building these reactors right away,
Obviously, this is hype. Mr Branson has been involved in both renewables initiatives (with Bill Clinton for $4 billion) and efficiency efforts. It is sad to see he has been duped by the failed technophilic dream of breeder reactors.
