Russia’s OMZ manufactures components for China’s Xudabao 4 Russia’s OMZ-Spetsstal said on 28 December that it had manufactured pressure compensator elements for unit 4 of China’s Xudabao NPP in China.

The pressure compensator is used to create and maintain pressure in the primary circuit of a nuclear reactor. In an emergency, the unit limits pressure fluctuations and thus maintains the integrity of the system.

Four shells are required to produce one vessel. The weight of each is 26-36 tons, length 1.82 to 3.16 metres, diameter 3.4 metres, and wall thickness 152 mm. All four shells are awaiting shipment to AEM-Technologies in Petrozavodsk where they will be used for the production of a pressure compensator.

An intergovernmental protocol was signed in Beijing in 2018 for the construction of two Russian-designed power units with VVER-1200 reactors at the Xudabao NPP site in Liaoning Province.

Rosatom and the State Energy Administration of China also signed framework contracts for serial construction of the Xudabao units, the construction of the 4th stage of the Tianwan NPP (units 7&8), the supply of equipment and the provision of services for the construction of the Chinese CFR600 demonstration fast reactor and for the supply of radionuclide thermal blocks for space purposes.

Under these contracts, Russia will design the nuclear island of the station, as well as supply the key equipment of the nuclear island for the Tianwan 7&8 and for Xudabao 3&4.

The start-up of Tianwan 7 is scheduled for 2026, and Tainwan 8 in 2027. The start-up of the Xudabao units is also scheduled for 2027-2028.

OMZ-Spetsstal is the largest Russian manufacturer of metallurgical billets for power engineering, petrochemical and gas complex and other industries. The company's production sites are located in Russia and the Czech Republic. The group is controlled by Gazprombank