NEW BUILD | REPLICATING REACTORS
Unleashing industry potential
Maxime Desplats
Director of Nuclear Power at Egis
THE POPULARITY OF NUCLEAR ENERGY fluctuated greatly throughout the 20th Century and into the 21st. From the 1940s the early adopters of nuclear energy in Europe were projecting fission reactors as the source of abundant, clean energy that could fuel economic growth and rising prosperity. But with changing tides in public opinion and gradually reduced investment, by the 2000s nuclear energy was making up less of many nations’ energy mixes than the original pioneers had predicted. Now, however, with global energy markets proving
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The similarities between Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C will increase effi ciencies, reduce costs and support a timely regulatory process
highly volatile and international energy dependency a major challenge, nuclear power is making a resurgence in the eyes of the public and governments throughout Europe. As several reports make clear – and most recently in the UK with the long-awaited Mission Zero Review from former energy minister Chris Skidmore – nuclear energy will play a major, and increasing, role in decarbonising energy production and achieving net zero. There is now real conviction that to reach our collective climate goals by 2050, we need nuclear and furthermore there are no convincing alternatives that could address the scale of the challenge. Today, there is a genuine excitement in the nuclear industry that surrounds its renewed growth and the new technologies which are transforming it. What the long-term composition of the revived nuclear
energy industries will be in countries like France and the UK is still up for grabs. In the short-term, large nuclear power plants will continue to form a stable part of the landscape but emerging technologies such as Small Modular Reactors, and ultimately nuclear fusion in the years to come, have enormous potential for delivering carbon-free energy.
In the immediate future, the task of those working in the
nuclear industry is to ensure it is as viable and efficient as possible in supporting the net zero transition and providing energy security. And there has been a steady stream of progress to that end – most notably with the development of the UK’s two landmark nuclear power projects, Hinkley Point C and its sister project Sizewell C. As sister projects, the aim has always been to transfer,
where possible, the learnings, technology and skills enhanced at Hinkley Point C to Sizewell C – increasing efficiencies, reducing costs and supporting a timely regulatory process. The approach to replication being pioneered here is an exemplary of innovation in nuclear energy that means it can truly deliver viable, clean energy for Britain and beyond.
Replicating reactors Closely replicating nuclear reactors across sites is not only novel engineering but it is also highly ambitious. The idea behind this strategy is to try and reproduce the parameters of the nuclear reactors and supporting auxiliaries as much as possible. In the nuclear sector, whilst we herald innovation, we do not always welcome change. Changing things from one site to the next leaves open the door for unforeseen disturbances and ramifications later down the line, leading to increased costs and timeframes. Typically, in major nuclear construction projects
replication means broadly two things. The first is technical where engineers will look to utilise the same equipment, the same parameters and specifications, the same products, tools and often even the very same people. And then there is replicating the organisation to perform the project. It is no secret that building nuclear power plants is highly complex and there are a great number of stakeholders to bring together and integrate in the project management. Replicating the systems, organisation and performance of the teams is highly desirable for optimisation. If you go further, the benefits of replication become even more abundant. By changing the design and build of the reactors and their auxiliary buildings as little as you can, it means that the teams working on them don’t need to continuously reinvent, the stakeholders involved will stay the same and the character of the project remains consistent. That is where the cost savings and efficiencies are to be found. Egis have helped to build 58 reactors in France alone and
been part of the design for all of them since the end of the Second World War. Now the global consulting, construction engineering and operating firm is working on both Hinkley
26 | March 2023 |
www.neimagazine.com
Developing both Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C will give the UK a significant boost building the skill sets needed for net zero, but for another key advantage is that the reactor design will allow replication between sites
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