Wedoany.com Report-Oct. 28, The two 160-metre-high cooling towers of Germany’s Gundremmingen nuclear power plant have been successfully demolished as part of the site’s decommissioning, RWE announced. On 25 October, specialists from a renowned German blasting company inspected and brought down the towers one after the other. In the weeks before demolition, drop and vertical slots had been inserted into the tower shells. During operation, the cooling towers had helped prevent excessive waste heat from affecting the Danube River.

Approximately 600 kilograms of explosives placed in 1,800 boreholes were used to demolish the towers. The resulting 56,000 tonnes of material will be processed into recycled gravel, a valuable construction resource. Around 30,000 spectators observed the demolition from a safe distance. At 1:24 pm, authorities declared the demolition complete and lifted the exclusion zone. Nearby buildings, the dismantling facility, interim storage structures, and high-voltage lines remained unaffected.

Gundremmingen Plant Manager Heiko Ringel said: “We have been intensively preparing for the demolition of the cooling towers for many months in close coordination with the Günzburg district and the municipality of Gundremmingen, thus reaching an important milestone for the site. My special thanks go to the representatives of the district and municipality for their trusting and constructive cooperation over the past few weeks. The successful outcome underscores that the dismantling is proceeding safely and responsibly.”

The Gundremmingen B reactor, a 1,284 MWe boiling water reactor (BWR) in Bavaria, was disconnected from the grid on 31 December 2017 after 33 years of operation. The Gundremmingen C reactor, a 1,288 MWe BWR, permanently shut down on 31 December 2021. The Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection granted the dismantling licence for unit B in March 2019 and for unit C in May 2021.

In December 2021, RWE contracted Westinghouse to dismantle both reactors. The work includes removing and packing the reactor pressure vessels, associated internals, fuel element storage racks, and adjacent concrete shielding structures in units B and C. Completion is expected by 2030.

Steffen Kanitz, Executive Board member of RWE Power AG responsible for Nuclear Energy, said: “We have been fulfilling our legal mandate to rapidly dismantle the Gundremmingen plant since January 2018 in Block B and since January 2022 in Block C. The successful demolition of the two cooling towers is now also visible to the outside world that we are consistently implementing the politically agreed nuclear phase-out.”

The Gundremmingen demolition marks a significant step in Germany’s nuclear decommissioning efforts, demonstrating careful planning, strict safety measures, and community coordination. The dismantling work continues, with reactor deconstruction and site cleanup progressing toward the 2030 target.