Robot to be deployed in reactor core

© Francis Vigouroux / VINCI Energies

VINCI Energies is to build, together with Airbus Safran Launchers and Nuvia Limited, the robotics equipment which will be deployed in the ITER programme’s thermonuclear prototype reactor.

Cegelec CEM (a unit of the VINCI Energies nuclear business line), Nuvia Limited (a VINCI subsidiary), and Airbus Safran Launchers have just signed a global framework contract, worth approximately €100 million, with the European agency Fusion for Energy (F4E).
These three cutting edge companies will be responsible, during a 7-year period, for the robotics of the international ITER programme (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), which aims to prove the feasibility of nuclear fusion as a new viable and sustainable energy source for future generations.

© Francis Vigouroux/VINCI Energies

Automated system

Human intervention being prohibited within the reactor core, a sophisticated robotics system is set to take over.
In Cadarache near Marseille, where the thermonuclear prototype reactor is being built, Cegelec CEM will use its expertise in mechanical engineering to develop, install and test a Cask and Plug Remote Handling System (CPRHS).
This automated system will transport components from the reactor chamber to the hot cells, to be tested then either repaired or disposed of. It will also carry remote handling equipment to the reactor core, to perform inspection and maintenance without human intervention.

« This project is a unique opportunity for Cegelec CEM to demonstrate its ability to develop and build remote handling equipment for a nuclear application in as complex an environment as this, » says Pascal Champ, Cegelec CEM sales director.

15/12/2016