Chennai: Russia’s integrated nuclear power player Rosatom has shipped the pressuriser for the fifth 1,000 MW power plant coming up in Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu.
The pressuriser is referred to as the primary circuit equipment of the VVER reactor and responsible for creating and maintaining pressure and coolant volume.
It is used to limit pressure fluctuations in transient and emergency modes during the operation of a nuclear plant.
The mass of the equipment is 187.5 tonnes. When assembled, it is about 14 meters long and 3.3 meters in diameter. Its capacity is 79 cubic meters and the wall thickness is 152 millimeters.
AEM-Technologies Izhora (a part of the machine-building division of Rosatom – Atomenergomash) shipped a pressuriser on April 3, 2023.
India’s atomic power plant operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) has two 1,000 MW plants (Units 1 and 2) at Kudankulam, while four more (Units 3, 4, 5 and 6) are under construction.
All the six units are built with Russian technology and equipment supplied by Rosatom.
According to an NPCIL official, transportation of components from Russia to Kudankulam was NPCIL’s responsibility.
Major equipment for building the third and fourth units have reached Kudankulam from Russia. A sizable number of components for the fifth and sixth units are to come from Russia.
