GEA standby cooling towers for the Loviisa nuclear power plant in Finland
Bochum (Germany), April 21, 2015 – In February of this year, installation was completed of the new
reserve cooling towers for the Finnish nuclear power plant Loviisa on the island of Hästholmen. The
cooling towers were built by GEA EGI Contracting/Engineering Co. Ltd., a member of the GEA Heat
Exchangers Group, and were erected under the supervision of Fortum, the customer and plant operator.
The standby cooling towers complement the main cooling system for the two 496-MW reactors. If the
main, sea water cooling systems become completely unavailable in the improbable extreme conditions –
for example, if an oil slick occurs in the plant vicinity – the standby towers will remove the residual heat
from the plant into the air and allow the plant to be safely shut down. The plant operator Fortum, who
had already prepared plans for a standby cooling system, implemented these plans following postFukushima stress tests.
Power plant units Loviisa 1 and 2 went online in 1977 and 1980, respectively. The present schedule calls
for Unit 1 to operate until 2027 and Unit 2, until 2030. Both facilities are based on Russian reactor types
and were initially designed in accordance with Western safety regulations. These stipulations also
included design of redundant emergency cooling systems. After the Fukushima disaster and the
following stress tests for European nuclear power plants, Fortum decided in 2013 to contract an
additional air-cooled system to even further enhance plant safety. GEA EGI implemented the concept
within a few months.
Installations started in the autumn of 2014; the new cooling towers were installed on buildings such as
reserve residual heat removal system and tank areas, and were integrated into the cooling circuits during
the following winter months. Some supplementary works outside the towers itself will be done in spring.
During the next regularly scheduled shutdown of the power plant, in autumn of this year, a test of the
performance of the standby cooling system will take place. GEA EGI supported the construction work on
site, which was performed locally by companies contracted by Fortum. Two cooling towers were
provided for each unit of the power plant. The towers were designed to withstand earthquakes and are
protected from the weather by panels when not in use. An electric heating system prevents freezing of
HX Holding GmbH
Tel. + 49 (0) 234 980-0 · www.gea-hx.com
Dorstener Strasse 484, 44809 Bochum, Germany
Page 1 of 3 pages
the towers. One tower in each of the units serves to remove the residual heat from the reactor, and the
other tower provides cooling of safety-related systems such as the spent fuel pool cooling, emergency
core cooling and containment heat removal systems. The coolers, consisting of integrated finned-tube
heat exchangers installed in “A”-form, allow for a small footprint and fast dissipation of heat. The cooling
effect is forced by fans powered from the normal grid or by emergency standby diesel generator. The
output of the new cooling towers is dimensioned to bring the reactor to hot shutdown state within a few
days and later on to cold shutdown state. Fuel pools can be kept in normal operational parameters.
Installation of the cooler in one of the new
One of the new standby cooling towers of the
standby cooling towers of the Finnish nuclear
Finnish nuclear power plant Loviisa (photo:
power plant Loviisa (photo: Fortum).
Fortum).
HX Holding GmbH
Tel. + 49 (0) 234 980-0 · www.gea-hx.com
Dorstener Strasse 484, 44809 Bochum, Germany
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Press Affairs and Public Relations:
HX Holding GmbH
Nicole Hückels
Dorstener Str. 484
44809 Bochum
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)234 980-2584
[email protected]
In case of publication, please submit one copy to us of each of the published items for our archives.
Information on GEA Heat Exchangers Group (HX)
GEA Heat Exchangers Group (HX), with home offices in Bochum (Germany), offers one of the world’s most extensive product portfolios on the
market for heat exchangers. With plate heat exchangers, shell-and-tube heat exchangers, air-cooled heat exchangers, air filter systems, wet
cooling towers, dry cooling systems, and synthetic filling media – as well as air treatment systems for numerous application areas – the
company reaches customers in global markets for power generation, oil and gas, chemistry, marine applications, climate and environment,
water and wastewater treatment, and food and beverages. GEA Heat Exchangers focuses on customer-specific products and services and
serves its target groups throughout a global production and service network. Until December 31, 2013 the company had generated annual sales
of approx. 1.5 billion euros and employed around 7,300 staff around the world. For more details on GEA Heat Exchangers Group (HX), please
consult www.gea-hx.com
If you do not wish to receive any further information from GEA Heat Exchangers, please send us an e-mail to [email protected] or phone us at
+49-(0)234-980 2584.
HX Holding GmbH
Tel. + 49 (0) 234 980-0 · www.gea-hx.com
Dorstener Strasse 484, 44809 Bochum, Germany
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