Specialists from Russia’s Atomstroyexport (ASE - part of Rosatom’s Engineering Division and general contractor) and representatives of the Hungary’s Paks II have begun acceptance checks for a core melt localisation device (melt trap) for the fifth unit at the Paks NPP (also known as Paks II unit 1). The Paks II project was launched in 2014 by an inter-governmental agreement between Hungary and Russia for two VVER-1200 reactors (units 5&6) to be supplied by Rosatom.
The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority issued the licence for the units in August 2022. The following December, the Hungarian parliament approved the extension of the life of the four existing VVER-440 power units at the Paks NPP for another 20 years. Paks currently provides half of all generated and one third of the consumed electricity in Hungary.
This was the third visit of Hungarian experts to oversee the manufacturing process and technical documentation. They will assess the readiness of the device for transportation to the site of Paks site in Hungary.
ASE Vice President and Paks project director Vitaly Polyaninsaid this is the first large-sized heavy equipment manufactured for the Hungarian station. “The melt trap will be delivered … in the near future. This will be a landmark event and proof that the project is successfully moving forward – systematically and on schedule,” he noted.
Image courtesy of Rosatom
