Casks for the transport and storage of spent nuclear fuel
One of the key activities of ŠKODA JS is the production of fuel handling equipment.
Casks are used for the transport and dry storage of spent nuclear fuel. ŠKODA JS produces casks of its own design as well as casks in cooperation with the GNS mbH Essen Company. ŠKODA JS produced the first cask in 1993.
Casks of GNS design and the licensed production of casks
Over the years, we have manufactured several types of casks based on the design by the German company GNS for various locations – the CASTOR®1000/19 cask with a body made of ductile cast iron for a Czech nuclear power plant, the CONSTOR® made of metal-concrete for a nuclear power plant in Lithuania, the CASTOR®HAW 20/28 CG cask for the storage of highly active waste for German and Swiss nuclear power plant operators, and the CONSTOR®440/84 cask made of reinforced concrete, including a fuel basket of ŠKODA JS’s own design, for a nuclear power plant in Bulgaria.
Under the license from the GNS Company, CASTOR®440/84 M casks with a body of ductile cast iron, including a fuel basket of ŠKODA JS’s own design, were produced for a nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic.
Casks of our own design
Since 1998, we have also been producing and supplying casks of our own design. We have focused primarily on special-purpose casks, e.g., for research reactors, the transport of radiation emitters and witness samples, as well as for medical purposes. Over the past 20 years, we have designed a total of 15 such casks for Czech and Slovak nuclear units as well as for Czech, German and Swiss companies and research reactors. One of the most recent projects was the design, production and delivery of a cask wagon for the Chernobyl NPP, which serves for the transport of 9 special spent fuel assemblies from the RBMK reactor.
At the end of 2018, we supplied the first ŠKODA 1000/19 spent nuclear fuel cask of our own design to the Temelín NPP. This cask was developed and produced entirely by ŠKODA JS. It is designed for the transport and long-term storage of VVER 1000 spent nuclear fuel. The fuel basket will hold 19 fuel assemblies. The cask weighs 119 tons and its height is over 5 meters. We are to supply 58 of these casks to the Temelín NPP by 2035.
We are also currently working on the design and production of the new ŠKODA 440/84 cask for the Dukovany NPP. In 2016, we won the tender for the delivery of a total of 33 casks and the first delivery should take place in 2021. The contract will continue until 2035.
The history of our cooperation
1993 delivery of the first K1xIRTM cask of ŠKODA JS’s own design for research reactor fuel to the Nuclear Research Institute Řež
1998delivery of the KSV 440 cask of ŠKODA JS’s own design for witness samples of pressure vessel steel to the Mochovce NPP
2000a Type A cask for fresh nuclear fuel delivered to the Temelín NPP
2006 production of two PETA casks of ŠKODA JS’s own design for medical purposes to be used by Gamma Service Radeberg, Germany
200616 VPVR/M casks of ŠKODA JS’s own design for research reactor fuel delivered to the Nuclear Research Institute Řež
2006delivery of the VTUK cask for the Ignalina NPP in Lithuania
1995-2005
production of 60 CASTOR 440/84 casks for a customer of GNS to be used at the Dukovany NPP
1997-2002
production of 21 CASTOR 440/84 casks for a customer of GNS intended for EWN Greifswald, Germany
2006-2017production of 39 CASTOR 440/84M casks for a customer of GNS and ČEZ to be used at the Dukovany NPP
2014-2015
production of eight CASTOR 1000/19 casks for the Temelín NPP
2000-2005
production of 42 CASTOR HAW 20/28 CG casks for a customer of GNS
2009-2010production of 34 CONSTOR 440/84 casks for a customer of GNS to be used at the Kozloduy NPP, Bulgaria
1999-2010production of 98 CONSTOR RBMK 1500 casks for a customer of GNS to be used at the Iganlina NPP, Lithuania
2011-2018
production of 41 CONSTOR RBMK 1500 M2 casks for a customer of GNS to be used at the Ignalina NPP, Lithuania
2011a KSV 440 cask of ŠKODA JS’s own design for witness samples of pressure vessel steel delivered to the Mochovce NPP, Units 3 and 4
2016a cask wagon of ŠKODA JS’s own design delivered to the Chernobyl NPP, Ukraine
2017delivery of one 300 TERA cask to ÚJP Zbraslav (Institute of Nuclear Fuels) for the transport of irradiated samples
2018delivery of the first ŠKODA 1000/19 cask of ŠKODA JS’s own design
2019start of production of the first cask of type ŠKODA 440/84