Reactor for Belarusian nuclear station in production

The work to make a reactor for the Belarusian nuclear power plant has begun, said Vasily Polyukhovich, Deputy Director of the Nuclear Energy Department of the Belarusian Energy Ministry during the online conference hosted by the BelTA website on 12 December.

“I would like to note that it takes several years to make a nuclear power plant reactor. As far as the production of one reactor for the Belarusian nuclear power plant is concerned, the work has already begun. Several intermediate products have been made for the shell of the reactor at the Kramatorsk-based factory. The intermediates have been accepted by the manufacturer as well as representatives of the customer and the general contractor. The production of several shell rings will last till mid-2014. After that the Volgodonsk-based branch of AEM Technologies will start making the reactor shell,” explained the official.

A nuclear power plant reactor is quite large, therefore, just like the core catcher it will be delivered by river from Volgodonsk via the Dnepr River and the Berezina River, he added.

BelTA reported earlier that the company Energomashspetsstal, which is part of Atomenergomash, the mechanical engineering division of the Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom, has shipped the first intermediate products of the reactor shell in addition to the reflection shield for the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The intermediate shell ring for the lower pipe zone weighs 71.23 tonnes. Two intermediate rings of the reflection shield weigh 22.1 tonnes each. Energomashspetsstal has shipped them to the Volgodonsk-based branch of AEM Technologies. A week before the products were shipped, Energomashspetsstal had welcomed an acceptance inspection conducted by representatives of the Nuclear Power Plant Construction Directorate (Ostrovets, Belarus) and the companies AEM Technologies, Atomstroyexport, and Zarubezhatomenergostroy.

These intermediates heralded the manufacturing of the reactor shell for the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The acceptance inspection was organized at the top level, the intermediates for the nuclear power plant match their designed parameters, stressed Sergei Gorin, Deputy Head of the Reactor Division of the Nuclear Power Plant Construction Directorate.

Energomashspetsstal will make a total of 12 intermediates for the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. Their manufacturing cycle is supposed to be completed in Q1 2014.

The Kramatorsk-based company Energomashspetsstal is Ukraine’s largest manufacturer of custom-made and small-series special cast and forged products for the metallurgy industry, shipbuilding, power engineering industry (wind, steam, hydro, and nuclear types) and for general mechanical engineering. The company operates cutting-edge metallurgical and machining equipment and is capable of performing all the production operations from generating marketing and technical ideas to implementing them as ready-made products. Energomashspetsstal’s trademark is known in over 50 countries.

OAO Atomenergomash is a leading power machines manufacturer of Russia and is the mechanical engineering division of the Russian state corporation Rosatom in charge of making machines for the power industry. Atomenergomash provides effective comprehensive solutions for nuclear power industry, heat power industry, gas, oil, and chemical industries. The company comprises about 30 major manufacturing, research, and engineering enterprises in Russia and other countries.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant will have two power-generating units with the total capacity of up to 2,400MW (1,200MW each). It will be built at the Ostrovets site in Grodno Oblast. The Russian design AES-2006 has been chosen to build the power plant. The design is fully compliant with international standards and IAEA recommendations. The first power-engineering unit of the nuclear power plant is scheduled for launch in 2018.