Lifespan of New Russian NPP Power Units Extendable to 100 Years

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Atomenergomash JSC Director-General Andrey Nikipelov told Sputnik on Monday that innovative technologies allow the company to extend the operational life of new reactors' power units for the Kursk NPP-2 (nuclear power plant) up to 100 years.

"The number of welded joints in the vessel of this reactor has been reduced from six to four by excluding welded joints in the active zone. This decreases the radiation exposure on welds and improves the performance of the vessel providing an opportunity to increase the operational life of reactors by 40 years after 60 years of maintenance, meaning that the total lifespan of reactors will be the whole century", Nikipelov said.

Atomenergomash, an arm of Rosatom State Corporation, supplies the Kursk NPP-2 with the new type of reactor systems VVER-TOI (Water-Water Energy Reactor Universal Optimised Digital). Nikipelov said the construction of the first set of nuclear equipment (reactor and four nuclear steam generators) has been finished and the second is on the way.

JSC Atomenergomash is the Mechanical Engineering Division of the Rosatom State Corporation and one of the largest power engineering holdings in Russia. The company offers such services as a design, manufacture and supply of equipment for nuclear and thermal energy, gas, shipbuilding industry and other spheres.