The core catcher has been installed for Unit 3 of the Xudabu nuclear power station, also known as Xudabao, under construction in Liaoning Province, northeast China, Russian state-nuclear corporation Rosatom said.
The core catcher – also known as a core melt localisation device or core trap – is designed to catch the molten core material, or corium, from a nuclear reactor in the event of a nuclear meltdown and to prevent it from escaping the containment.
Rostom said the installation of the 156-tonne component is a milestone activity which allows further works on the reactor building pit.
In June 2019, China National Nuclear Corporation and Rosatom signed a general contract that involved the construction of two Russia-supplied VVER-1200 reactors at Xudabu to be commissioned during the 2020s.
First concrete for Xudabu-3 was poured in early August 2021, marking the actual start of the nuclear island construction.