The digital reactors of EDF’s 58 French nuclear reactors officially enter a new development phase this Friday, January 1, 2021. The objective is simple: to have a prototype of an ergonomic and easy-to-use digital reactor by the end of 2023. To do this, eight organizations, led by EDF, have joined forces to pool their engineering, computer and physical skills. Focus on one of the largest projects to pool the expertise of players in the French nuclear sector.
Digital reactors tested since 2018
In 2016, EDF announced its new strategy for the digitalization of its activities. In its plan to digitize nuclear power plants, the development of digital twins is a major focus. One year later, the engineers created the first digital twin of a nuclear power plant enclosure based on the 1/3 scale VeRCoRs model. The objective is to capitalize on the accessible data of the model of a real nuclear power plant. On the other hand, we are not yet talking about a digital reactor.
We have to wait until 2019 for this and the development of the first reactor with 100% digital control tools. The PUR-1 atPurdue University ‘s U.S. School of Nuclear Engineering in Indiana is the first reactor to have a digital clone. Developed by engineers from EDF and its subsidiary Métroscope, this project is close to a real digital reactor. So is there a difference between a digital twin and a digital reactor?
What is the digital reactor?
A digital reactor is a digital twin, the reverse is not true. The difference between the two is the degree of similarity to a real nuclear reactor. A digital twin is a digital interface for data retrieval, a digital reactor is also a simulator. It’s a “digital and functional replica of a nuclear power plant,” says Benoît Levesque, head of the EDF R&D project.
On a digital reactor, operators can train in virtual reality to perform maintenance or operating tasks in a nuclear reactor. At the same time and with the same tool, engineers can study the behavior and the environment of this same nuclear reactor. The aim of the project is therefore to improve the safety and operation of nuclear reactors by numerically anticipating their behavior.
At the heart of the nuclear industry’s digitalization strategy
The phase that opened on January 1 will then accelerate the development of digital reactors for the deployment of the first ones by 2025. Nine players have come together in the framework of the PSPC, including EDF, the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA) and Framatome. All of this is under the umbrella of the FrenchNuclear Energy Industry Group (GIFEN), which brings together companies in the sector, as well as the Nuclear Valley nuclear industry competitiveness cluster.
The 186 specialists from EDF, Framatome and the CEA now have four years until the end of 2023 to develop an ergonomic and user-friendly interface. The first difficulty lies in the pooling of technologies and expertise of the different actors involved in a single homogenized interface. The second difficulty lies in the development of a complete individualization of the digital reactors. Initially, however, EDF had planned to develop a single common interface that could be partially adapted to the various nuclear reactors.
If the project is successful, EDF will be able to consider international markets, particularly for the 250 nuclear reactors it currently operates and/or maintains around the world.
Taking part in the French energy strategy
The number of reactors operated and/or maintained by EDF around the world shows that French nuclear know-how is recognized worldwide. Of the 2,600 large companies, SMEs and VSEs in the sector, at least 50% export their expertise. The country’s 3ᵉ industrial sector is then receiving support from the government, which has announced that it is investing 472 million euros in the French nuclear industry.
This large-scale project is part of a dual strategy of digitalization and development of the competitiveness of the French nuclear industry. For EDF and the organizations involved, this major challenge in the short term will allow them to strengthen their know-how. By the same token, to ensure better protection against the risks associated with nuclear facilities and to take better account of digital technology in the transformation of the sector.
The digital transformation of the French nuclear industry is one of the development priorities set out in the French nuclear industry’s strategic contract. Signed on January 28, 2019, this contract will preserve French nuclear know-how. More generally, to give concrete expression to the country’s nuclear energy policy.
