The 1410 MWe pressurised water reactor was shut down on 31 December 2021. PreussenElektra – a subsidiary of EOn Group – applied for approval to decommission and dismantle the plant in December 2017.
In October 2024, the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature issued the first decommissioning and dismantling permit to PreussenElektra for the Brokdorf plant. Phase 1 of the plant’s decommissioning and dismantling included the decommissioning and dismantling of the plant components that are no longer required and subject to nuclear regulatory supervision, with the exception of the reactor pressure vessel and the biological shield. In December 2024, all the requirements for using the permit were met when the last documents requiring approval came into force. On the same day, PreussenElektra notified the authorities that it was using the permit, meaning the plant’s post-operation phase had ended and it had entered the dismantling phase.
PreussenElektra has now announced that a total of 764 fuel assemblies have now been transferred from the storage pool into CASTOR used fuel storage casks since 2023.
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Brokdorf (Image: PreussenElektra)
“This means that the radioactive core of the plant has been completely removed – and with it, over 99% of the radioactivity,” the company noted.
“The removal of nuclear fuel is an important milestone in the decommissioning of our plant, as it creates the conditions for further technical and organisational adjustments,” explains plant manager Tammo Kammrath. “We can now shut down additional systems and reduce the size of the shift crew. Their valuable expertise is urgently needed elsewhere, for example for the dismantling of the reactor pressure vessel internals, which is scheduled to begin in the spring of next year.”
PreussenElektra added: “For this important decommissioning project, various components and plant parts must first be removed from the area of the now-empty spent fuel pool in order to create the necessary storage, handling, dismantling, and packaging areas. A further prerequisite for starting this work is the still-pending official permit for the use of the transport preparation hall for radioactive waste, which is currently under construction.”
A second dismantling permit is required to dismantle the reactor pressure vessel and the biological shield. This requires the removal of all fuel elements and special fuel rods. PreussenElektra submitted the application for the second dismantling permit on 30 August 2024.
Once all dismantling work has been completed, the site will be released for reuse.
