We are pleased to announce the signing of a new contract on June 7, 2013 between Holtec and Synatom to develop, license, and supply a high capacity cask for inter-unit wet transfer of used fuel at Tihange NPP. Synatom, responsible for managing the entire fuel cycle of the Belgian nuclear power plants, selected Holtec following a competitive international bidding process. Holtec’s new cask, named the HI-STAR 120, will be designed to comply with the essential requirements of an IAEA certifiable transport cask and will be licensed in Belgium by the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) for use at the Tihange site. Designed for transport in the wet (flooded) condition, the HI-STAR 120 cask will enable low temperature transport of fuel with as little as 24 months post-reactor cooling time. The design will account for the complex chemical, mechanical, and thermal interactions inherent to wet transport conditions.
Mr. Wim de Clercq, Chairman of Synatom, and Mr. Robert Leclere, Chief Executive Officer of Synatom, welcomed Holtec to the company’s distinguished list of able suppliers during the contact signature ceremony. Holtec’s President and CEO, Dr. Kris Singh, assured Synatom’s managers and executives that the Company understands the challenges inherent to designing a wet transfer cask and will spare no efforts to ensure safety, ALARA objectives, and to fully meet the expectations of FANC.
Dr. Richard Springman, Holtec’s Business Development Manager for International Projects, led Holtec’s biding efforts with Synatom and its engineering specialist, Tractebel. Synatom’s project team is led by Mr. Luc Janssen, Manager of the Reprocessing and Waste Department and Ms. Anne Boogaerts, Project Manager. Mr. Janssen expressed his personal confidence in Holtec’s capabilities to complete the project successfully.
Holtec successfully designed and licensed a wet transfer system for Entergy’s Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) in the United States in 2012. The wet transfer system for IPEC has been used for two successful transfer campaigns thus far, completing eight transfers in September 2012 and an additional eight transfers in January 2013.
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