No. 2/20 - Contract awarded for headframe on Konrad 2

The contract for the construction of the new headframe at the Konrad shaft repository has been awarded: The headframe on Konrad 2 is a core piece of the nuclear facilities on the surface during the construction phase. “Underground, we are on a good path towards completion of the repository. With the construction of the headframe, the project is now also picking up speed in the later control area above ground”, says Dr Thomas Lautsch, Managing Director of the Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung (BGE).

The BGE commissioned Schachtbau Nordhausen GmbH from Thuringia to erect the headframe. The contract includes both the planning and the erection of the headframe. After a planning phase, construction is scheduled to begin in 2023 and be completed in 2026. After completion and commissioning of the entire repository, the containers with the low- and intermediate-level radioactive materials will be transported via Shaft 2 to the transfer station at a depth of 850 metres. A transport vehicle will then take the containers to the emplacement chambers. Above ground, things are also moving quickly: “The next construction project will be the reloading hall, where the waste will be prepared for shaft transport and underground transport after delivery”, says Dr Thomas Lautsch.

The headframe on Konrad 2 will reach a height of 42 metres in order to accommodate the planned 8-rope shaft winding system. It will be constructed using steel trusses. This will require more than 1,000 tonnes of steel. The conveyor cage has a capacity of 25 tonnes and is designed for a maximum speed of 12 metres per second.

The contract also includes the installation of the ventilation systems, the electrics, and a lightning protection system. Fire protection is particularly important. High requirements apply here because the system must meet the requirements of nuclear law in addition to those of mining law.