IHI to supply components for first Polish AP1000

The contract covers the containment vessel - an essential safety system that encloses the reactor and other critical systems - as well as the CA01 'super module'. Measuring more than 26 metres long, 29 metres wide and 23 metres high, the concrete and steel CA01 module - composed of 47 sub-modules - sits inside the unit's containment module where it houses the plant's reactor pressure vessel, steam generators and other components.

Three Westinghouse AP1000 reactors are planned for the plant at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Choczewo municipality in Pomerania in northern Poland. The AP1000 reactor design uses modular construction techniques, enabling large structural modules to be built at factories and then installed at the site. The reactor building and systems consist of dozens of prefabricated, steel-concrete structural and mechanical modules.

Last month, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) gave Westinghouse the go-ahead to start ordering long-lead items for the project's first AP1000 unit. It said the scope of the order for the first unit covers six key components of the nuclear island, including the reactor containment vessel and associated structural modules.

Westinghouse subsequently placed conditional purchase orders with Polish companies Energomontaż-Północ Gdynia SA (EPG), FAMAK SA, Mostostal Kielce SA and Mostostal Krakow SA to support the first AP1000 unit at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site. The conditional purchase orders cover the CA02 Walls Module Scope for Mostostal Kielce, the CA03 Module Scope for EPG, the CA05 Walls Module Scope for Mostostal Krakow, and the CA20 Floors Module Scope for FAMAK.

In an AP1000 unit, the CA02 walls module and the CA03 module are part of the in-containment refuelling water storage tank in the containment building. The CA05 walls module consists of reinforced steel plates that provide protective walls separating various rooms in the containment building. The CA20 floors module consists of reinforced concrete slabs placed on steel plates to form the floors of the larger CA20 module that houses plant equipment inside the unit.

Early procurement of components with long lead times is common in nuclear projects worldwide. It helps secure the availability of production capacity, mitigates the risk of delays, and supports timely project implementation. The scope of work includes preparing technical documentation, quality and supervision plans, selecting and contracting suppliers, and initiating material procurement necessary to commence production. The production and delivery of finished components to the construction site will be handled as part of a subsequent order, which PEJ plans to issue as part of the power plant construction contract.

Construction of the Lubiatowo-Kopalino plant is scheduled to begin in 2028. Under a recent update to the country's nuclear power programme, the first unit is scheduled to start commercial operation in 2036, and the plant is expected to reach full capacity by 2038 - three years later than previously planned.