NRG Starts Irradiating Nuclear Reactor Containment Tubes For EDF

In December 2020 EDF (Électricité de France) and NRG (both ENS Corporate Members) have started a cooperation on the irradiation of containment tubes.

The purpose of the irradiation is to gain knowledge on the behavior of containment tubes under operating conditions that are to be considered off normal. During the last 18 month all the preparations have been made for the concept design, final design and manufacturing of the irradiation facility.

The irradiation facility has been specially designed to match the irradiation requirements of EDF. To this purpose neutronic and temperature modelling has been combined with engineering to fit the containment tubes in the confined space in the core of the reactor.

The irradiation of the experiment started in the last cycle of the HFR and will continue till mid-2023.

NRG has been supporting the nuclear power industry since 1955 and has extensive experience in performing complex irradiations and meeting the stringent demands of our customers for the successful development of nuclear technology. The cooperation with our French partner EDF shows how important the High Flux Reactor is for the deployment of nuclear power in the energy transition to achieve the climate targets.

said Bertholt Leeftink, CEO of NRG|PALLAS.

From NRG Press Release.