Forsmarks Kraftgrupp has given a supply order for industrial diesel engines to Caterpillar for an emergency cooling system at the 3.27GW Forsmark nuclear power plant in Sweden.
Image: The Forsmark nuclear power plant in Uppland, Sweden. Photo: courtesy of Caterpillar.
The order given to Caterpillar and Zeppelin Power Systems, its local Cat dealer is for six Cat 3500 Series industrial diesel engines.
According to Caterpillar, the diesel engines will provide electricity to custom-made GSG cooling water pumps manufactured by Swiss pumping solutions specialist Sulzer.
The company, in a statement, said: “Cat 3500 Series industrial diesel engines offer unsurpassed performance and durability for industrial applications through high power output, proven reliability and excellent fuel efficiency.”
The US firm said that the pump packages will be installed as part of an independent core cooling system that would be put into use if an emergency occurs at the three reactors of the Forsmark nuclear plant.
Caterpillar added that the new system will be installed in stages with the work likely to be completed in 2019.
Forsmarks Kraftgrupp project manager Patrik Lundgren said: “Nuclear power provides about 40 percent of all the energy used in Sweden, so it is important to have systems in place that ensure the safe operation of nuclear reactors.
“We selected Caterpillar and Zeppelin Power Systems due to their long histories and strong reputations for quality products that perform when they are needed most.”
Made up of three boiling water reactors reactors that generate nearly 25 billion KWh per annum, the Forsmark nuclear power plant meets almost 17% of all the power consumed annually in Sweden.
Built on the Swedish east coast in the Uppland region, the Forsmark power plant was commissioned between 1980 and 1985 and is considered to be youngest of all the Swedish nuclear plants.
Forsmark is owned 66% by Vattenfall, while E.ON and Mellansvensk Kraftgrupp hold stakes of 8.5% and 25.5% respectively.