International Consortiums Plan Dismantling The Ignalina Reactor

Last 28 December, SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant signed two contracts for design services for reactor dismantling technologies.

Reactor dismantling technologies for INPP will be developed by a consortium led by Westinghouse Electric Spain (Spanish subsidiary of Westinghouse Electric Company, ENS Corporate Member), including Jacobs Slovakia, and Lithuanian Energy Institute, as well as a consortium led by the French company EDF (ENS Corporate Member), and including Graphitec.

The design services for the dismantling technologies will be provided in 2 phases.

In Phase 1, a concept for the dismantling of the reactor will be developed through the award of two pre-contracts with contractors. Each contractor will design and propose two engineering solutions.

The works in Phase 2 include technological design, safety analysis report and other documents), aimed at the further development of the selected dismantling concept.

The dismantling of the world’s two most powerful RBMK reactors is the first decommissioning project of its kind in the world.

Indeed, Soviet-designed Ignalina could be the first graphite-moderated reactor facility to be dismantled, making it an important test bed for methodologies that could be used to decommission the UK’s Magnox and advanced gas-cooled reactors, which also have graphite cores.

Today we have achieved an important milestone in the decommissioning project of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. The dismantling of the reactor core is the most challenging part of the decommissioning.

said Audrius Kamienas, Director General of INPP.

Read the full INPP Press Release.