Motor-driven reactor coolant pump

The transfer of several gigawatts of heat between the very compact core of the reactor and the steam generators requires a high flow rate to keep the water in the liquid state.
Around 5 to 7 m3 of water passes through the reactor core every second. Three to four motor-driven pumps are necessary to maintain this flow rate, with one for each steam generator, constituting a corresponding number of « loops ». Each of these machines weighing 100 tons and measuring 8 m in height consumes around 6 MW of electricity.