Under the contract signed with Vattenfall GmbH, the AREVA-EWN Consortium is to dismantle and package the reactor pressure vessel internals of the Brunsbuttel nuclear power plant in Germany. Work should be completed by 2020. The contract also includes an option for the Krummel nuclear power plant, should decommissioning and dismantling (D and D) be decided for the plant.
The segmentation and packaging of core waste and reactor pressure vessel internals will be carried out underwater. Proven technology and a qualified underwater robot will be used to enhance efficiency and reduce the time required for the operation.
Vattenfall has operating responsibility for two nuclear power plants in Germany; Brunsbuttel and Krummel of which it owns 66.7 and 50 percent respectively. Brunsbuttel is a 771 MW Boiling Water Reactor. It was commissioned in 1977. Krummel is a 1,346 MW Boiling Water Reactor, commissioned in 1983.
Guillaume Dureau, Senior Executive Vice President, Customers, Strategy, Innovation and R and D at AREVA comments: "As Germany phases out nuclear power, this contract signed with Vattenfall demonstrates recognition of our expertise in decommissioning.
"Since 1978, we have been involved in some 160 D and D-type projects on 64 nuclear power plants worldwide and especially have a successful footprint in Germany with the Stade and Wurgassen D and D projects.
"We look forward to working with EWN, a German company specialized in dismantling and waste disposal, to provide safe, competitive and innovative solutions to our customer."
German court nukes tax on power firms
Power companies in Germany stand to gain billions in refunds from the government after the country's top court declared Wednesday that a nuclear fuel tax was illegal.
The news boosted shares of major operators E.ON and RWE, which must phase out atomic power by 2022 under a decision Chancellor Angela Merkel made after Japan's 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Germany's Constitutional Court ruled t … read more
