We are pleased to announce Holtec has been awarded a contract by Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB (SKB) to replace their existing fleet of transport casks with Holtec’s HI-STAR 80 casks for shipment of BWR and PWR spent nuclear fuel and core components from Sweden’s Oskarshamn, Forsmark and Ringhals Nuclear Power Plants to SKB’s central interim storage facility (CLAB). SKB’s new ship, the MS-Sigrid, will be used to transport the casks by sea from Sweden’s Forsmark and Ringhals plants to the CLAB facility. The casks may also be used for international transports. The HI-STAR 80 casks will transport 12 PWR or 32 BWR high burnup fuel assemblies (above 45 GWD/MTU) with cooling times as short as 18 months.
The contract entails design of the transport packages, licensing in the United States and Sweden, fabrication at Holtec’s U.S. facility (HMD in Pittsburgh, PA), training, testing, support services and maintenance of the license for the next 30 years. In addition to the casks, Holtec will design over 30 pieces of ancillary equipment for the project and fabricate and supply over 100 pieces of ancillary equipment, including lifting devices designed to KTA nuclear safety standards and replacement components for the CLAB facility to accommodate the HI-STAR 80 cask.
Dr. Rick Springman, Holtec’s Director of International Projects, who led the interactions with SKB called this project “a milestone event for binding Holtec and SKB in the development of a cutting-edge cask technology that will reduce the number of transports in half, reduce accumulated occupational dose, and imbed increased safety margins in Sweden’s fuel management program. We are thrilled to add an internationally recognized nuclear company with a reputation of exacting standards to our list of clients.”
SKB’s Project Manager for the cask replacement project, Mr. Johan Rosenblad, stated that “Holtec’s technologies afforded SKB the lowest cost of ownership over the planned 30 years of operation of the transport fleet, which was a critical factor in our evaluation of the international tender. The HI-STAR 80 cask is double the capacity of our existing casks, which will make the new fleet twice as safe and cut down on the number of transports.” In SKB’s news announcement (available at http://www.skb.se), Christopher Eckerberg, Managing Director of SKB, also stated, “I am delighted that through the contract with Holtec International we also get to see a new player in the European market. Holtec is a reputable company that has decades of experience in the design, licensing and manufacturing of storage and transport containers.”
The entire fleet of casks and related equipment will be placed into full operation by year-end 2020.
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