Wedoany.com Report-Nov 27, Installation of the core catcher at Unit 4 at Egypt’s El Dabaa nuclear power station has begun, Russian state-owned project contractor Atomstroyexport said.
The core catcher – also known as a core melt localisation device or core trap – is designed to catch the molten core material, or corium, of a nuclear reactor in the event of a nuclear meltdown and to prevent it from escaping the containment.
Atomstroyexport said installation of the core catcher’s main body is under way. The component is among the largest in a nuclear reactor system, weighing about 155 tonnes, and was delivered to the El Dabaa site earlier this month.
Upon completion the entire core catcher device weighs about 700 tonnes and comprises several systems including heat-resistant surfaces, protective and containment barriers, as well as cooling and monitoring systems.
El Dabaa, Egypt’s first nuclear station, will have four Russia-supplied Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors, with the first unit expected to be online in 2026.
In January 2024, Russia and Egypt began construction of El Dabaa-4, the fourth and final reactor unit at the station, about 300 km northwest of the Egyptian capital Cairo on the country’s Mediterranean coast.