Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division has commenced manufacturing a reactor pressure vessel for Unit 6 of the Paks II Nuclear Power Plant. The two power units of Paks II are being built to the latest Russian design.
AEM SpetsStal, Rosatom’s steel-making facility located in St. Petersburg, Russia, has proceeded to forge steel blanks weighing approximately 600 tonnes. The blanks will be used to make shells of the reactor for Unit 6 of the Paks II NPP. Being critical structural components of the reactor pressure vessel, the shells are hollow cylinders that are welded together.
“We have started manufacturing the ‘heart’ of the nuclear power plant — a Generation III+ reactor — for yet another power unit in Hungary. Production of equipment for the Paks II NPP is now in full swing at the Russian steel-making and mechanical engineering facilities. We are currently processing steel blanks for the reactors of both Units 5 and 6 and, going forward, will proceed to manufacture steam generators, pressurizers, safety system tanks, and other primary coolant components for the plant’s nuclear island, and equipment for the turbine installation. Several of our manufacturing sites — located in Moscow, Podolsk, St. Petersburg, Petrozavodsk, and Volgodonsk — will be involved in the project to ensure that the equipment is produced on time and meets the highest quality requirements,” said Igor Kotov, Head of Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division.
Forging steel blanks is one of the initial steps in manufacturing the reactor equipment. This is being done at one of Europe’s largest automated forging plants. Once the blanks are shaped as needed, they will be moved to another workshop for machining. Eventually, these blanks will be used to manufacture two shells for Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactors.
“The Paks II NPP project is fully on schedule. This is evidenced by the fact that the manufacturing of a long-lead piece of equipment — a reactor pressure vessel for Unit 6 — started one year after the beginning of the same production phase for Paks Unit 5,” said AtomStroyExport Vice President and Paks II construction project director Vitaly Polyanin.
“The Paks II NPP is the largest nuclear investment project in the European Union. Two new power units, which are being constructed in Paks, will generate large amounts of sustainable electricity for Hungary’s economy until the end of this century. The production of long-lead equipment is going smoothly, with Hungarian engineers having contributed and contributing substantial efforts — from design oversight to licensing and continuous production monitoring,” said Paks II Ltd. CEO and Chairman Gergely Jákli.
Speaking at a conference dedicated to the development of renewable energy in Hungary, Hungarian Minister of Energy Csaba Lantós called nuclear and renewable energy the two pillars of Hungary’s energy sovereignty. He emphasized that the primary objective was to reduce heavy dependence on foreign energy sources and strengthen energy independence, but at a reasonable and economically feasible cost. Lantós stressed that no sustainable climate policy could exist without nuclear energy, and that Hungary remained a steadfast supporter of nuclear energy. The operating lifespans of the four existing units at the Paks NPP will be extended and, once the Paks II project is completed, all six units combined will be able to meet half of the country’s growing electricity demand.
Photo by: AEM-Special Steel plant, Rosatom State Corporation Engineering Division
