SECTOR REPORT | NUCLEAR
polar cranes and other hoists are fixed in place and built to last, although there is some innovation taking place in the form of electrical control upgrades and small trolley replacements. One of the common factors across
all applications, countries, and clients in nuclear is a strong emphasis on safety and security, which is an area of significant growth. O’Connor says that cybersecurity in particular is a concern that is directing, and in many cases hampering, technological development. Many companies are deliberately setting up roadblocks against innovation out of concerns around hacking and cyber threats. “A lot of new technology hasn’t taken off in nuclear due to cybersecurity concerns,” he says. “Anything electronic, or remote- controlled, or accessed via a network, they have concerns about. If the customer base was willing to allow this technology, we could do remote diagnostics and monitoring from a safe distance without climbing up cranes or going into high- radiation areas. They’re slowly starting to get on board with some of the new technologies with the next generation of workers.” Fred Waugh, regional manager of the
nuclear and Ohio branches of Whiting Services Inc., says monitoring technology is one of the few areas where clients are welcoming new innovations. Whiting’s trademarked TrackRunner cameras, for instance, are capable of performing complete surveys of polar cranes while providing a live video feed. And in high- radiation areas, some nuclear plants are using drones to inspect for leaks and read metres. Waugh notes that training new hoist
operators is another area of technological innovation in nuclear: “A lot of plants are having a problem finding qualified operators during outages. The experienced operators used to travel from outage to outage, but a lot of them are retiring now. So when training new operators, they’re doing laser scans of the containment in order to do virtual operator training.”
Whiting is currently starting work on
a new crane for the Brunswick Nuclear Generating Station in North Carolina. The new crane is an updated version of the original crane that was installed in 1971.
REGIONAL TRENDS The nuclear industry’s regionalized nature can make it difficult for companies to
R A J&R Engineering Lift-N-Lock Crawler vertical cask transporter for lifting and transporting dry casks containing used nuclear fuel. The transporter’s crawler track design won the Wisconsin Governor’s Award for innovation.
secure a diverse array of contracts in a single country: China is predominantly new builds, France is mostly decommission work, and Canada has primarily been a maintenance market with some decommissions of research and prototype reactors.
In the United Kingdom, however, there
are three different generations of nuclear projects currently underway, which means the domestic market can offer a diverse project portfolio. Simon Pykett, general manager of Penny Hydraulics’ specialist division Penny Nuclear in Clowne, Derbyshire, says each of these types of projects has its own unique driving factors. “Legacy sites must be decommissioned
to ensure the safe storage of nuclear waste,” Pykett says. “These sites must also be taken into a state known as care and maintenance, the period after the site has been fully decommissioned but remains secure and closely monitored. Every piece of the site must be carefully taken to pieces, examined, and processed, which creates a need for many specialized pieces of lifting and handling equipment.” The United Kingdom, Pykett says, has 15 operational nuclear reactors that collectively supply just over 20% of UK
electricity. However, almost half of the UK’s nuclear power generation capacity will be retired by 2025, which means new reactors will be required to meet the country’s power generation needs. “The only new nuclear build is at Hinkley
Point C in Somerset,” Pykett says. “This is a major infrastructure project that requires the largest mobile crane ever built. Known as Big Carl, the crane is over 250 metres tall, can lift over 5,000 (metric) tonnes, and will help to assemble the reactors and their surrounding enclosures.” Penny Nuclear supports all stages
of the nuclear plant lifecycle, but the majority of the company’s recent projects have involved decommissioning end-of- life plants. Pykett says one of the most significant barriers to new builds is the large upfront capital investment required. While decommissioning projects are government-funded, new builds in the UK rely on funding from private for-profit companies. Penny Nuclear is typically involved in eight to ten key projects at any time, ranging from tool development to bespoke design-build. One recent project involved the development of a fully automatic drum grab for moving low level waste drums to a new site.
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