Melt trap delivered to El-Dabaa NPP construction site

Acceptance of the first large-sized equipment for unit 1 of the El-Dabaa NPP under construction in Egypt was marked by a ceremony attended by the Deputy Chairman of the Egyptian Nuclear Power Plant Authority (NPPA) Mohammed Ramadan; NPPA El Dabaa Project Manager Mohammed Dvidar; the Vice President of Russia’s JSC ASE (Project Director plant construction) Grigory Sosnin; and design teams from Rosatom’s Engineering Division and NPPA.

“Two years ago we were at a plant in Syzran, where the production of this technologically sophisticated equipment began, said Grigory Sosni. “Now the trap has finally arrived on the site. This is one of the most important elements from the point of view of the safety for NPPs with a generation 3+ VVER reactor.”

The melt localization device is a container in the form of a steel cone, which, in the event of an emergency, reliably holds fragments of the core melt and does not allow them to go beyond the hermetic shell of the reactor building. During NPP operation, the “melt trap” is filled with special materials, upon interaction with which the core melt loses part of the accumulated heat.

The El-Dabaa NPP will comprise four units with generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors. The NPP is being constructed in accordance with contracts that entered into force in December 2017 based on an inter-governmental agreement signed by Egypt and Russia in 2015. The $30bn project is mainly financed through a $25bn Russian loan. Russia will supply nuclear fuel throughout the lifecycle of the plant, arrange for the training of the Egyptian personnel, and assist in the operation and maintenance of the plant for the first 10 years. Egypt expects that the NPP will reach full capacity by 2030. The reference plant for El-Dabaa is the Leningrad-II NPP.