OREANDA-NEWS. May 17, 2016. Nuclear professionals, engineers, researchers, academic staff and students had the opportunity to get first-hand information about Rolls-Royce innovative nuclear instrumentation & control (I&C) technology at a recent seminar held at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics.

Rolls-Royce would like to be one of the potential suppliers for the Paks 2 nuclear power plant project in Hungary which involves constructing two VVER-1200 type reactors.

At the seminar Rolls-Royce demonstrated core areas of expertise, such as design, licensing, manufacturing, and long-term support of digital safety systems based on its proprietary Spinline®  technology. Spinline® is a modular and digital solution dedicated to developing and/or upgrading safety I&C used in nuclear reactors.

Rolls-Royce provided an overview of worldwide project references, including long-term partnerships with utilities, modernisation projects for plant designers and new construction projects in France, Czech Republic, China, and Finland.

The audience was greeted by Prof Dr Attila Asz?di, government commissioner for the maintenance of the performance of the Paks Nuclear Power Station, who said: “We have to say clearly that for the development of the country it is extremely important to have well trained and well educated engineers and this is the right place to provide this education. The Budapest University of Technology and Economics is one of the best engineering universities in the region.

“Nuclear energy plays an important role in the energy supply of Hungary and we are working on the Paks 2 project to maintain the capacity of the nuclear energy up to the end of this century. This is a huge project which means not only investment in technology but also in knowledge.

“We selected the Russian technology for the reactor island, however, some important questions are still pending, for example the I&C and the turbine technology. In these areas Western companies can be involved in the Paks 2 project, because we want to have an international project of the highest technological level so that we could be able to operate the plant for 60 years or even for eighty years. Knowing the best available technology is key and informing university members, students and teachers is also key in that process that is why I decided to sponsor this and similar events.”

Neil Parison, Rolls-Royce, Director of Strategic Accounts & Government Relations at the seminar said: “Throughout the lifetime of a nuclear plant, ensuring plant safety and availability, as well as maximising output is critical for the long-term success of utility operators.

“We were delighted recently to sign a contract for delivery of the conceptual design of core safety critical I&C systems for  the newbuild Hanhikivi-1 project in Finland and we welcome the opportunity to present to Hungarian nuclear professionals our leading technology in this field and our strong licensing experience in stringent regulatory environments.

“We selected the Budapest University of Technology and Economics as the venue for our seminar because we believe that the education of future nuclear professionals is of key importance in every country which aims to implement new build nuclear projects.

“We are pleased to offer a three month training scholarship at our Centre of Excellence in France for the most talented students”.

Rolls-Royce is a world leading provider of nuclear instrumentation and controls, helping customers to improve the safety, availability and reliability of their operational plant while at the same time reducing costs. Over the past 40 years, Rolls-Royce has designed, manufactured, installed and retrofitted analogue and digital safety instrumentation and control systems in nuclear reactors of all types. Its systems are installed in over 200 nuclear reactors across 20 countries worldwide with a total of more than 3,000 reactor years of successful operation.

About Rolls-Royce Holdings plc

  1. Rolls-Royce’s vision is to be the market-leader in high performance power systems where our engineering expertise, global reach and deep industry knowledge deliver outstanding customer relationships and solutions. We operate across five businesses: Civil Aerospace, Defence Aerospace, Marine, Nuclear and Power Systems.
  2. Rolls-Royce has customers in more than 120 countries, comprising more than 400 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces, 4,000 marine customers including 70 navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers.
  3. We have three common themes across all our businesses:
  • Investing in and developing engineering excellence
  • Driving a manufacturing and supply chain transformation which will embed operational excellence in lean, lower-cost facilities and processes
  • Leveraging our installed base, product knowledge and engineering capabilities to provide customers with outstanding service through which we can capture aftermarket value long into the future.
  • Annual underlying revenue was ?13.4 billion in 2015, around half of which came from the provision of aftermarket services. The firm and announced order book stood at ?76.4 billion at the end of 2015.
  • In 2015, Rolls-Royce invested ?1.2 billion on research and development. We also support a global network of 31 University Technology Centres, which position Rolls-Royce engineers at the forefront of scientific research.
  • Rolls-Royce employs over 50,000 people in more than 46 countries. Nearly 15,700 of these are engineers.
  • The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills. In 2015 we employed 228 graduates and 277 apprentices through our worldwide training programmes.
  • Rolls-Royce integrated I&C solutions are based on world-class engineering and state-of-the-art technology that combines hardware, electronic and software components to produce a unique digital I&C platform for both new nuclear power plants and the refurbishment of existing plants. Rolls-Royce digital I&C solutions are designed to provide safety and performance through technology and long term support.
  • Spinline® technology underpins the highest rating, Class 1E Instrumentation and control systems, such as Reactor Protection System (RPS) and Neutron Instrumentation system, Process Instrumentation System, ESFAS and Diesel Load Sequencing System; both in new nuclear power plants and for modernisation of existing safety I&C systems in established plants.
  • Spinline® has evolved from the first digital integrated protection system (SPIN) developed by Rolls-Royce, which was the first safety digital I&C technology installed worldwide in 1984 on Paluel 2 reactor in France.