French enterprise will advise the INPP

The French enterprise Bureau Veritas Exploitation SAS has won an international tender launched by the INPP on 15 June 2022 for the provision of consultancy services on reactor dismantling. In total, 8 suppliers were interested in the tender and 2 tenderers submitted their proposals.

The contract for project management and technical advisory services was signed on 4 January this year for a period of 7 years, i.e., for the entire concept development, technology design and licensing phase. The maximum contract price is €9 million. The actual volume of consultancy services will depend on the needs of the INPP.

The enterprise will advise on the management of dismantling projects in accordance with international best practice, as well as on the most appropriate option for the dismantling of the reactor core, on key technical decisions, on the resolution of potential problems, etc. It will perform independent analyses of designers' proposed technical solutions, calculations, data, methodologies and underlying assumptions, and provide other technical and engineering support as required.

“There are only a few examples of graphite reactors being dismantled in the world today, but the RBMK reactor type has never been dismantled before. This is an extremely complex task, unprecedented in the world, for which preparatory work will continue for several more years. I am delighted that we will have highly qualified experts involved in both project management and technical decision-making, whose advice will help us to achieve the best possible result and contribute to the success of this extremely important project,” said Audrius Kamienas, Director General of the INPP.

It is worth recalling that the decommissioning of the two most powerful RBMK reactors in the world is an unprecedented decommissioning project in global practice. It is planned that the physical dismantling of the reactor systems will start in 2028.

The project "Consultancy services to assist in the dismantling of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant reactor systems" is financed by the EU Ignalina Programme Fund.