PreussenElektra awards contract to dismantle steam generators at four nuclear power plants to Cyclife
12 May 2021
On May 12, PreussenElektra (PEL) awarded another major contract as part of the dismantling of its nuclear power plants: Cyclife, a subsidiary of Electricité de France (EDF) which specialises in nuclear decommissioning and waste management acquired the contract to dismantle and dispose 16 steam generators at the Unterweser, Grafenrheinfeld, Grohnde and Brokdorf nuclear power plants.
Steam generators are the heat exchangers in pressurised water reactors. They produce the steam that turns the turbines in the power house to generate the electrical energy in the generator. The dismantling and disposal of the steam generators is one of the key major projects in the dismantling of PEL’s pressurised water reactors and will take more than a decade. Ensuring the safe and timely implementation of this project will be crucial for rapid dismantling progress.
“This is why we have deliberately chosen to award this contract for the whole fleet. It allows us to maximise the knowledge we gain and make the best possible use of synergies. We are convinced that we have found an excellent partner in Cyclife, who have the expertise and experience to manage major projects like this one”, says Dr Guido Knott, CEO of PreussenElektra.
About 15 years ago, Cyclife developed a process and infrastructure in Sweden for dismantling and disposing of steam generators. To date, Cyclife Sweden has successfully processed a total of 13 steam generators and 15 large heat exchangers from Swedish, German and English nuclear power plants.
“Cyclife is honoured to have been chosen by PreussenElektra to perform this key step of the decommissioning process. This contract confirms the strong commitment and long-term involvement of Cyclife to support the German decommissioning market. We are proud of bringing forward the waste-led decommissioning approach to serve PreussenElektra from concept to final delivery”, comments Sylvain Granger, Executive Chairman of Cyclife.
Based on the collaboration between Cyclife and its subcontractor Framatome GmbH, another subsidiary of EDF, planning is already underway for the removal of the steam generators at Unterweser. The first one is scheduled to be dismantled in the second quarter of 2023. The steam generators, which are around 20 metres high and weigh almost 400 tonnes each, will first be lifted out of the controlled area as a whole and then be shipped away by barge. They will subsequently be dismantled and prepared for disposal. This procedure was already used at the Stade nuclear power plant in 2007 and offers both time and considerable safety benefits compared to the alternative of dismantling the steam generators on site.
About PreussenElektra
PreussenElektra GmbH operates Brokdorf (Schleswig-Holstein), Grohnde (Lower Saxony) and Isar 2 (Bavaria) nuclear power plants to generate power in Germany. The Isar 1 (Bavaria) and Unterweser (Lower Saxony) plants are in the process of being dismantled. Nuclear dismantling of Stade NPP (Lower Saxony) is well advanced and that of Würgassen NPP (North Rhine-Westphalia) has already been completed. It is the aim of PreussenElektra's roughly 2,000 employees to contribute to climate-friendly, reliable and affordable power production in Germany up until 2022 and to guarantee safe dismantling of the decommissioned plants.
About Cyclife – EDF Group
Cyclife provides solutions for the optimised and sustainable management of radioactive waste and decommissioning of nuclear installations. Cyclife includes three industrial facilities in the United Kingdom, Sweden and France and three engineering and digital centers of expertise: Cyclife Engineering, Graphitech and Cyclife Digital Solutions to bring turn-key solutions to its customers based on its waste-led decommissioning approach.
To discover more about Cyclife: www.cyclife-edf.com
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