The Joint Venture ALSTOM-Atomenergomash was established in 2007 by Atomenergomash and the leader of the world’s nuclear machine engineering, Alstom Power Holding SA, in making equipment sets for turbine islands to ALSTOM’s ARABELLE low-speed turbine technology. According to the international agreement signed to establish the JV, Alstom Power Holding SA handed over its technologies of low-speed turbines and ARABELLE generators with the capacity of 1200-1800 MW, while Atomenergomash contributed a production building with the total area of 78 000 square m (JSC Machine-Building Plant “ZiO-Podolsk”) into the JV registered capital.

The site for ARABELLE equipment production was being chosen very carefully and at the end of the year finally the decision was made. The Board of Directors decided to site the JV’s production at an AEM-technology Branch (part of the Rosatom control loop) in Volgodonsk (Rostov Region).

The Production Association Atommash, where the Volgodonsk Branch of AEM-technologies was established, had been a key enterprise within the system of the Ministry of Medium Machine Engineering of the USSR and produced a broad range of high-technology equipment for nuclear power and industry. This enterprise was capable of producing VVER nuclear reactors, steam turbines, control and protection systems (CPS), steam generators, moisture separator-reheaters (MSR) and other equipment. The facility location makes possible to off-ship the equipment by all modes of transport, including by waterways, from own pier.

Reference

JV ALSTOM Atomenergmash main activity areas: 
– Manufacture of low-speed steam turbines and generators of 1200-1800 MW capacity, MSRs and condensers to the ARABELLE™ low-speed turbine technology. 
– Provision of engineering services and kitting up NPP turbine islands with equipment made to the ARABELLE™ low-speed turbine technology. 
– Maintenance service and equipment modernization of NPP turbine island.

The decision was made at a meeting of the Board of Directors, where the implementation issues of the joint project on localization of the turbine island equipment manufacture to the ARABELLE technology were discussed.

As said in Atomenergomash, the decision was made basing on the positive result of the review of the Branch production site. The parties noted that JV AAEM and the Branch of AEM-technology possessed a high degree of preparedness and all necessary conditions for producing the turbine and other turbine island equipment to the low-speed technology ARABELLE. “Owing to this Board of Directors’ decision we can start the localization process already in the coming year, and this will allow us to fulfill the order for supply of equipment for Units 1 and 2 of Baltic NPP in a timely manner and full scope. This decision also strengthens positions of AAEM as a reliable supplier of equipment for nuclear power,” Director General of JV ALSTOM-Atomenergomash Alexander Tsvetkov noted, basing on outcomes of the meeting.

Restore one’s competence
It is interesting to note, that the AEM-technologies in Volgodonsk, where the ARABELLE equipment is going to be produced, for the first time in 26 years has started the VVER-1200 type of reactor standard production. This is the kind of technology to be applied for Baltic NPP. The reactor production is conducted in cooperation with other AEM-technologies enterprises and Atomenergomash. Energomashspetsstal (Ukraine) is the supplier of metal and reactor tank equipment. Petrozavodskmash is an inner cooperation partner for Volgodonsk specialists. The key problems concerning the reactor and in-vessel devices production are solved in the head-office of AEM-technologies in Saint-Petersburg. “Next year we are planning to increase the scope of package-units production for NPP, – noted Evgeny Pakermanov, AEM-technologies Director General. – In 2013 we are planning to start production of the set of steam-generators for the power unit 4 of the Rostov NPP”.