On October 15, Volgodonsk mechanical engineering plant (Rosatom’s mechanical engineering division) shipped three steam generators for Unit 4 being built to the latest Russian design of a NPP with VVER-1200 at the Xudapu NPP in China.
The unit has a total weight of 1 thousand tons. It is to be delivered to the construction site by a combination of transport facilities (by road, river and sea).
The manufacturing plant sent the first shipment of equipment for this unit – a VVER-1200 reactor vessel and a steam generator – in mid-August 2024.
“The companies of Rosatom Mechanical Engineering Division have a fast pace in manufacturing equipment for nuclear power plants that Rosatom is building abroad. Our manufacturing facilities in Volgodonsk, St. Petersburg and Petrozavodsk ship equipment for the reactor and turbine halls of future nuclear power plants every month. This pace is the result of the coordinated work of nuclear mechanical engineering personnel and evidence of the high quality of Russian nuclear technologies,” said Igor Kotov, Head of Rosatom Mechanical Engineering Division.
Today, Rosatom’s mechanical engineering facilities in Petrozavodsk and St. Petersburg continue manufacturing a pressurizer, main circulation pipeline, and main circulation pump unit for the Xudapu NPP. The work is strictly on schedule, and the equipment will be shipped to the construction site in accordance with contractual deadlines.
Reference
The steam generator is a heat exchange device, an important part of the reactor that is considered a first class safety equipment. It has a diameter of more than 4 meters, the length of about 14 meters, and the weight of 340 tons. One NPP unit has four steam generators.
Rosatom Mechanical Engineering Division is the major Russian power engineering holding in terms of output and revenue. It supplies a complete set of reactor island and turbine hall equipment for all Russian-designed NPPs under construction; manufactures equipment, develops and supplies integrated solutions to energy companies, oil and gas sector, and other industries. The Division includes, for example, the Petrozavodskmash plant in Karelia, the largest mechanical engineering facility in the region (the company specializes in the manufacturing of main circulation pumps, pipe assemblies for reactor coolant pipeline, emergency cooling tanks, and other equipment), and the Atommash plant in Volgodonsk, which in fact manufactures complex equipment for all nuclear construction sites in Russia and abroad.
China has four Russian-designed power units under construction at two NPPs – Tianwan and Xudapu. These projects are part of the program for China-Russia strategic cooperation in peaceful atomic energy and high technologies for decades to come. The service life of Russian nuclear power units is 60 years with possible extension to 80 years. The reactor equipment that Russia supplies to China meets international standards and customer requirements. In addition to the construction of power facilities, Rosatom will manufacture nuclear fuel and supply it to China, and train personnel for future NPPs.
The Xudapu NPP is being built to a Russian design in Liaoning Province in northeastern China. In 2019, China and Russia signed a number of contracts, including a general contract for the construction of units 3 and 4 with VVER-1200 reactors at the Xudapu NPP, as well as a contract for the supply of nuclear fuel. In accordance with the contracts, Russia’s scope includes the design of the NPP nuclear island, supplies of key equipment for both power units, designer supervision, supervised installation and supervised adjustment of the equipment it supplies.
Rosatom runs projects to build 39 power units in 10 countries, being the world leader for the number of NPP construction orders in its foreign backlog. International cooperation facilitates technological sovereignty projects, encourages high-tech exports, contributes to the development of science and related sectors of Russian industry, and creates new jobs.
