The construction of new reactor units is already underway.Continue reading
In the framework of the expansion of the Paks nuclear power plant, the production of the reactor vessel for the sixth unit has begun in Russia, and at the same time the first turbine components for the fifth unit have also started to be manufactured in France, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced in London on Tuesday.
He underlined that in St. Petersburg, at Europe’s largest automated forging plant, the production of the reactor vessel of the future Unit 6, one of the most important long production time tools in the construction of a nuclear power plant, has started.
This will be the heart of the nuclear power plant, because the controlled chain reaction itself will take place in this reactor vessel, which is why it is manufactured to the highest possible European and Hungarian standards,”
the minister emphasized.
“There will be seven hundred quality checks during the production period. This reactor vessel will weigh 315 tons, be 11 meters high, 4.5 meters in diameter, a huge device that will have to withstand temperatures of 300 degrees Celsius and pressures of 162 bar for at least six decades,” he detailed.
At the same time, Péter Szijjártó announced that the first elements of the turbine for the Unit 5 reactor had started to be manufactured in Belfort, France. “So we are now even further ahead in this important investment with the production of the most important equipment for both Units 5 and 6. And the very fact that we have manufacturing sites in Russia and France makes it clear that this is a major international investment, the success of which is critical to securing Hungary’s long-term energy supply,” he stressed.
The new Paks nuclear power units will guarantee that Hungary will need to use less natural gas, we will emit fewer pollutants, we will be able to maintain the results of the cuts in utility prices in the long term, we will have a stable supply of electricity for decades to come, and all this with the Hungarian people continuing to pay the lowest energy prices in Europe,”
he added.
The Foreign Minister pointed out that both Hungary and the UK are part of the nuclear camp, both countries use nuclear energy and reject any negative discrimination against it. “And we clearly see that in the coming decades, the increased demand for electricity can only be met in an environmentally friendly and cheap way by nuclear energy,” he emphasized.
Via MTI, Featured photo via MTI/Jánossy Gergely
