Westinghouse Wins Ukraine Nuclear Safety Contract

---

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - Toshiba-owned Westinghouse Electric Company (Monroeville, Pennsylvania) has been selected to supply a passive hydrogen control system for the VVER Units 1 and 2 at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

The contract was awarded by the National Nuclear Energy Generating Company of Ukraine (NNEGC Energoatom) at a time when the safety of Ukraine's nuclear fleet has been called into question because of the ongoing conflict with Russian-backed rebels in the Crimea region of the country. Zaporizhia boasts 6 VVER 1000 reactors with a combined generating capacity of 6,000-megawatts (MW), making it the largest nuclear plant in Europe. Energoatom runs all four of Ukraine's nuclear plants, with Zaporizhia supplying just under half of the country's nuclear electricity.

Military tensions are escalating in Ukraine with reports that Russia has moved tanks and troops over the border into Crimea. As the main conduit for Russian gas destined for Europe, the conflict threatens European gas supplies, something the European Union recently aimed to thwart with a $4.6 billion gas deal to secure winter supplies. For additional information, see November 5, 2014, article - Europe Secures Winter Gas.

The Westinghouse Passive Autocatalytic Recombiner solution, named NIS-PAR, is designed to provide additional measures for ensuring containment integrity in the unlikely event of both a design-basis accident and beyond-design-basis accident. The engineering, design, supply and installation of the passive safety system is scheduled to be completed by January 2016. The company said it has been increasingly supplying VVER-type reactors (440/213 and 1000 models) around Europe with a range of products and services to boost safety and extend their operational lives.

"Given our proven experience in the VVER-type reactor market, Westinghouse is well placed in Europe to provide Energoatom with innovative safety systems," said Yves Brachet, Westinghouse president, Europe, Middle East and Africa. "More generally, this contract reflects the ongoing commitment of Westinghouse to provide the commercial nuclear power industry with products and services that further improve plant safety and reduce the probability of severe accidents."

The NIS-PAR solution aims to control and mitigate the effects of hydrogen generation under severe accident conditions. Westinghouse claimed it offers completely passive equipment, little-to-zero maintenance costs, easy installation, the ability to test multiple cartridges for quicker outages and robustness with respect to atmospheric conditions or seismic loads. Following the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan in 2011, NIS-PAR has been supplied to a number of nuclear plants around the world such as Slovenia's Krško, Brazil's Angra, Spain's Vandellós and Japan's Kashiwasaki Kariwa plants.

In recent weeks Energoatom opened an office in Brussels to signal a closer working relationship with the European Commission and nuclear safety organisations. The main aim will be to adapt its regulations so that they adhere to existing nuclear power practices in the European Union (E.U.). Ukraine also wants to use European, not Russian, partners in building future nuclear power plants.

Andrii Tiurin, who will run Energoatom's European office said: "As a good corporate citizen, Energoatom wishes to adopt the highest standards of governance in accordance with European and international norms. It will be an important objective for me to follow public policy and regulatory developments in the EU in respect of energy and climate change, and to assist Energoatom to make a constructive contribution to the European debate".

View Plant Details - 1083994

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the Industrial Info "Contact Us" page.