TVO And Fortum Tested The First Valve Featuring A 3D Printed Housing

Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) and Fortum have carried out a joint test of the first valve featuring a 3D printed housing at the Olkiluoto nuclear power station in Finland.

The valve housing was supplied by Neles Oy and installed at Olkiluoto by TVO.

The actual valve inside the 3D printed housing is a standard T5-series ball valve of stainless steel.

The size of the valve housing 3D printed for the project is 20 x 40 centimetres, while the printer itself has the size of an SUV.

The 3D printed valve housing, as well as any other 3D components available in the future, provides us with an alternative in a situation where the number of suppliers for nuclear power plants is being reduced. This gives us the possibility to produce a unique component by printing it ourselves

explained TVO Life Cycle Management Engineer Dino Nerweyi.

According to TVO and Fortum, both the technology and knowledge of 3D materials have evolved to a sufficient degree to allow the use of 3D printing also in the nuclear power industry.

Field tests provide a lot of valuable information on whether 3D printing could be used in the future to produce components with considerably shorter delivery times and cost savings.

Read the TVO Press Release.