The organisation of European energy producers has recognised Russia’s advanced VVER-TOI reactor project as complying with European Utility Requirements (EUR).

At the award ceremony in St Petersburg, the Honorary President of EUR, deputy director of the directorate for Project Support and Digital Transformation at EDF (France), Guillaume Jacquard, said: “I can justifiably state that the VVER-TOI project has passed the most thorough and in-depth examination, and it fully complies with the requirements of EUR.” 

The general designer of the VVER-TOI project is Atomenergoproekt JSC (part of the Engineering Division of the state nuclear corporation Rosatom); the designer of the reactor plant is OKB Gidropress JSC (also part of Rosatom); and the scientific adviser is the Kurchatov Institute. The project owner is nuclear utility Rosenergoatom, a Rosatom subsidiary.

The conclusions on compliance of the design with the EUR requirements followed a review of the design documentation and information provided in documents relating to the reference project at the Kursk II NPP. The analysis was based on answers to 4332 fundamental safety questions of EUR requirements, which cover the entire nuclear power plant complex. The European experts concluded that the VVER-TOI project complies with the modern concepts of nuclear plant safety and efficiency.

The EUR organisation was launched in December 1991 by several European utilities to produce a common set of utility requirements endorsed by major European utilities for the next generation of light water reactors. It was based on the US Electric Power Research Institute's Utility Requirements Document for advanced LWRs. EUR’s 15 members include EDF (France), Iberdrola (Spain), and TVO (Finland) as well as Rosenergoatom, which has been a member of the EUR organisation since 1993.  

The EUR requirements are aimed at developing baseline nuclear power projects that are balanced in terms of safety, production reliability, and the cost of electricity. New projects developed in line with these requirements can be easily adapted to the specific conditions of different sites and the specific requirements of national regulatory authorities.  

Atomenergoproekt announced the VVER-TOI design in 2010, an evolution of the VVER-1200 project. It has an upgraded pressure vessel, increased power to 3300MWt and 1255-1300MWe gross (nominally 1300MWe), improved core design with increased cooling reliability, lower construction and operating costs, and a 40-month construction time. Rosatom said the VVER-TOI is the "logical development" of its so-called Generation 3+ units.  

Two VVER-TOI units are being built at Kursk II in Russia to replace the original RBMK reactors at the site. Compliance of the VVER-TOI project with EUR requirements will contribute to the promotion of Russian nuclear technologies in foreign markets, ASE said.

Photo: Recognition that the VVER-TOI complies with European Utility Requirements (Credit: Rosatom)