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Protective shield installation gathers pace at Kursk II-1

Thursday, 13 February 2020

Installation of the first tier of the outer protective shell around the first reactor of the Kursk II nuclear power plant under construction in western Russia has been completed ahead of schedule. The unit will be the first to use the VVER-TOI (typical optimised, with enhanced information) design.

Protective shield installation gathers pace at Kursk II-1 — Installation of the protective shield around unit 1 of Kursk II (Image: Rosatom)

The tier consists of 15 armoured parts that were assembled to form a circle with a diameter of 50.8 metres. Installation of the second tier will start in late May. Once completed in 2023, the shield will be 65.4 metres tall and 0.5-1.5 metres thick.

Alexey Smirnov, director of Russian construction company Trest Rossem, said the VVER-TOI design enables a reduced schedule because it minimises high-altitude work at the construction site.

First concrete for Kursk II unit 1 was poured in April 2018, and that for unit 2 in April last year.

The 1255 MWe VVER-TOI is a Generation III+ power unit was developed using technical results from the VVER-1200 project. The design offers improved safety measures, including an increased margin of safety from extreme impacts and ability to withstand earthquakes, and is equipped with modern control systems and diagnostics.