ÚJV Řež staff produce cable at Temelín in Czechia for Rivne nuclear power plant

Staff from the Nuclear Research Institute Řež (ÚJV Řež) have manufactured a special cable at the Temelín nuclear power plant for Ukraine’s Rivne nuclear power plant. The component is 173 metres long and weighs 13 tonnes. The cable will reinforce the reactor containment building at the Rivne nuclear power plant. Representatives of ČEZ, ÚJV Řež and ES Group told journalists in Temelín today.

The manufacturer that had been supplying cables to the Rivne nuclear power plant is located in a part of Ukraine affected by Russian attacks. It therefore had to suspend operations. „The Rivne plant is not in a war zone, but it is an important source of electricity for the northern part of the country. Its safe operation is key to ensuring electricity supplies. And we have a post-tensioning facility at Temelín where, in cooperation with ÚJV Řež, we can manufacture similar cables,“ said ČEZ CEO Daniel Beneš.

A truck will transport the cable from Temelín to Ukraine. The cargo is expected to arrive in the coming days. Technicians will install the cable there in the spring, during routine maintenance of one of the nuclear power plant’s four units.

Staff from ÚJV Řež manufactured and prepared the cable in three months. „Two of the Rivne nuclear power plant’s four reactors are the same type as those at Temelín. The cables that reinforce the containment building around the reactor are therefore very similar, too. They differ in details such as the number of wires, the shape in which the wires are wound, and the method used to insert the cables into the building,“ said Jan Wandrol, Director of Integrity and Technical Engineering at ÚJV Řež.

Temelín and ČEZ have already sent energy assistance to Ukraine, including various equipment. „We provided a transformer from Temelín to convert the voltage from six kilovolts to 400 volts. It was equipment that was not in use but was fully functional. In the energy sector, we are used to helping each other as much as possible,“ said Bohdan Zronek, Director of ČEZ’s Nuclear Energy Division and a member of its board of directors.

rek dr