Russia’s Atommash has completed the welding of the lower half of the reactor pressure vessel for one of the two new units at the Kursk 2 nuclear power station under construction in western Russia, which will be the first to use the Generation III+ VVER-TOI design.
Atommash, part of Atomenergomash, the engineering division of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, said the weld would now be inspected and anti-corrosion coating added. It did not say which of the two Kursk units the RPV was for, but it is likely to be Kursk 2-1.
The VVER-TOI reactor technology is being used for Kursk 2-1 and Kursk 2-2. It was developed from the 1,200 MW AES-2006 pressurised water reactor.
Atommash, part of Atomenergomash, the engineering division of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, said the weld would now be inspected and anti-corrosion coating added. It did not say which of the two Kursk units the RPV was for, but it is likely to be Kursk 2-1.
The VVER-TOI reactor technology is being used for Kursk 2-1 and Kursk 2-2. It was developed from the 1,200 MW AES-2006 pressurised water reactor.
Construction of Kursk 2-1 began in April 2018 and of Kursk 2-2 in April 2019.
Rosatom said the two VVER-TOI units, the first of their type to be built, offer “a significant reduction in construction, timeframe and operational costs”.
Commissioning of the two units is planned to be synchronised with the decommissioning of Units 1 and 2 at the existing Kursk station after 2021 and 2022.
The existing Kursk station has four RBMK-1000 graphite-moderated nuclear reactor units (LWGRs) that began commercial operation between October 1977 and February 1986
