Harbin Electric Power Equipment and Shenyang Blower Works Nuclear Pump has awarded contracts worth more than $450m to Curtiss-Wright, for the delivery of reactor coolant pumps for the AP1000 nuclear power plants in China.
The contracts have a potential combined value of $500m, under which Curtiss-Wright will be responsible for 16 plant reactor coolant pumps (RCP) for the Generation III+ commercial nuclear power plants.
The firm is expected to start supplying the RCPs from 2019.
Curtiss-Wright chairman and CEO David Adams said: "We are extremely excited to announce the receipt of these new AP1000 contracts, which mark a major milestone in Curtiss-Wright’s history and build on our legacy as a critical provider of next-generation commercial nuclear power plant technology.
"Furthermore, these agreements expand our long-standing relationship with our China partners, and reinforce our ongoing support for China’s growing nuclear power programme."
The equipment is designed as canned motor pumps, which enable circulation of coolant water throughout the reactor and are one of the most critical components in the nuclear plant design.
Curtiss-Wright develops the RCPs at its Electro-Mechanical Division (EMD) plant at Cheswick in Pennsylvania, US.
However, this is not the first RCP order for Curtiss-Wright in China. The firm had won a similar contract in 2007 to supply 16 RCPs in total for two AP1000 nuclear plants in the country, which are presently under stages of construction.
The RCPs are to be installed at Sanmen Units 1 and 2 in Zhejiang Province and Haiyang Units 1 and 2 in Shandong Province.
The first two pairs of AP1000 RCPs for Sanmen Unit 1 have already been delivered by Curtiss-Wright, with the rest expected to be done within this year.
Image: Cooling tower at a nuclear power station. Photo: courtesy of Michielverbeek / Wikipedia.
