Outer dome installed at Kursk II-1

Thursday, 5 January 2023

The installation was preceded by the pre-assembly of the components on a special site on the ground. The lower part of the dome - a large-sized structure weighing 235 tonnes - was initially assembled. Five days later the upper part of the dome - with a diameter of 34.7 metres and weighing 175 tonnes - was assembled.

Now with the outer dome in place, the unit's containment building has a height of 65.4 metres.

The dome is placed upon the unit's containment building (Image: Rosatom)

The assembly and installation of the dome was performed by specialists from the Kursk branch of Trest RosSEM LLC, part of Rosatom's engineering division.

"The outer containment is one of the most important safety systems," noted Andrey Osharin, first deputy director for construction of new units at the Kursk plant. "This reinforced concrete structure protects the reactor plant from extreme external influences. In addition to the outer, there is also an inner protective shell that provides reliable protection of the environment. Its installation was completed in October this year. The double containment is a distinctive feature of the Russian design of power units with VVER-1200 and VVER-TOI reactors, which ensures the maximum level of nuclear power plant safety."

Evgeny Shevchenko, director of the Kursk branch of Trest RosSEM LLC, noted that the assembly and installation of the double containment domes had been completed in 135 days instead of the scheduled 175 days. "The reduction in terms was achieved thanks to the well-coordinated interaction of specialists at the construction site and the organisation of work with the maximum parallelisation of operations," he said.

"Successful completion of the installation of the outer containment dome is an important step towards the physical start-up of the power unit," said Oleg Shperle, vice president of JSC AtomStroyExport, project director for the construction of the Kursk II plant. "Concreting work on the dome will begin next spring, and after this stage is completed, it will be possible to proceed with the installation of passive heat removal systems."

Kursk II is a new power plant under construction, intended to replace the four older units of Kursk, which will retire from service from 2022 to 2031. The new units are the VVER-TOI design by Gidropress, which are optimised with a focus on digital manufacturing and operation.