Safety barrier for the reactor

We supply the core catcher cooling structures for the EPR™ reactor, a Generation III+ reactor type with a unit capacity of around 1,600 MW. Construction projects are currently being realised or have already been completed in the UK as well as in Finland, France and China.

The core catcher complements the primary safety systems of the EPR™ reactor, whose job is the reliable prevention, avoidance and control of nuclear accidents. In the event that all these systems fail completely and a core meltdown occurs in the reactor, the core catcher serves to catch and permanently cool the molten material before it can reach the foundation. This maintains the containment as the ultimate safety barrier. The core catcher is a complex structure composed of a large number of individual cooling elements made of spheroidal cast iron and a steel construction.

Also for this safety component, we supply the complete package: cast elements, steel construction and, if requested by the customer, assembly or construction supervision by our experienced service team.