A new Generation 3+ VVER-TOI, a typical optimised water-water reactor pressure vessel (RPV) is being shipped from Atommash (part of the mechanical engineering division of Rosatom) to the Kursk-II NPP site for installation in unit 2. The 340-tonne RPV will be transported by water and land. The VVER-TOI reactor Kursk-II unit 1 was shipped in 2020.
“This is the fourth reactor released by Atommash this year, which means our engineering division has achieved a record in reactor equipment production,” said Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev. “I must stress that this is not a record for its own sake, but a response to Rosatom’s ambitious programme of NPP construction in our country and abroad. The State Atomic Energy Corporation is making every effort to maintain a leading position in the global nuclear technology market.”
Kursk II is intended as a replacement station for the currently operating Kursk NPP, which comprises four ageing RBMK reactors (one of which is already closed). Units 1&2, currently under construction, will have VVER-TOI reactors – a development of the VVER-1200 reactor design. The VVER-TOI has increased power and improved technical and economic indicators, as well as increased resistance to extreme external influences. Public discussions began in February on the siting of units 3&4. Currently work is being carried out at 156 facilities on the Kursk-II site. The number of construction and installation personnel in August amounted to more than 8,500.
Image courtesy of Rosatom
