ATG Europe, IDOM and HIT progress on the Fuel Transfer Channel and Ex-Vessel Fuel Handling System with SCK CEN in support to the MYRRHA project

NOORDWIJK — ATG Europe, IDOM and Heemskerk Innovative Technology (HIT) are proud to announce their collaborative progress on the FTC-EVFHS-001 assignment for SCK CEN. This assignment is undertaken within a framework agreement which envelopes general engineering services in support to the preliminary design phases of the MYRRHA reactor’s primary systems as well as the balance of plant (BOP) systems, for which we have won a public tender in 2021.

In this specific assignment, the team of ATG, IDOM and HIT has been tasked to develop a large part of the fuel handling system design basis, including the design requirements, the concept selection and improvement, as well as a cost assessment and the identification and development of associated task descriptions and their procedures.

The part of the fuel handling system on which the team focuses actually consists of two subsystems, which are the Fuel Transfer Channel (FTC) and the Ex-vessel Fuel Handling System (EVFHS). These subsystems together enable the MYRRHA reactor in ensuring a safe and remotely controlled way to unload spent fuel assemblies from the reactor and replace them with new fuel assemblies.

HIT technically leads the project, providing fundamental support as experts in innovative high-tech projects in the field of robotics and mechatronics and working closely with ATG and IDOM.

ATG Europe provides overall nuclear systems engineering (including safety assessment), cost engineering as well as project management as the prime contractor in this team of three companies.

IDOM adds crucial knowledge and experience on the field of thermo-hydraulic design and CFD analysis, and experience on liquid metal-cooled nuclear systems, also supporting HIT and ATG with specific nuclear engineering advisory.

Our team of companies has developed with SCK CEN the design requirements, traded off and down-selected an innovative concept for the systems in subject and will further proceed on the conceptual design development, cost engineering, risk assessment and tasks/procedures development for SCK CEN. The team is pleased to continue now an efficient way of remote and collocated working, having already benefited from a number of workshops with SCK CEN.

MYRRHA Project

The MYRRHA (Multi-purpose hYbrid Research Reactor for High-tech Applications) project is run by SCK CEN and is the world’s first large scale Accelerator Driven System (ADS) that consists of a subcritical nuclear reactor driven by a high-power linear accelerator. With the subcritical concentration of fission material, the nuclear reaction is sustained by the particle accelerator only. Turning off the proton beam results in an immediate and safe shutdown of the nuclear reactions. MYRRHA offers unparalleled research opportunities in spent nuclear fuel, nuclear medicine and fundamental and applied physics.

“The implementation of the activities in support of the MYRRHA project is a new and important milestone for our company on its path of consolidation of our involvement in the Big Science and Nuclear Energy domain”, says Mr. Gian Carlo Coletta, CEO of ATG Europe. “We are looking forward to continue supporting the SCK CEN organization together with our industrial partners from the Conceptual Design to the Feasibility and Design Verification Phases and paving the road towards the Basic Design Verification of the reactor”.

ATG EUROPE

For 50 years we have been supporting our customers to transform their challenges into success by providing services with expertise and innovative thinking. Today, ATG Europe is a key player in delivering engineering services, solutions, and technologies to the European Space, Defense and Big science sectors. We provide value-added engineering services, products, and technology at the highest possible standards in order to help accelerate innovation on all fronts.

HIT

Heemskerk Innovative Technology is a company founded in 2007 focusing on the areas of Haptics, Dexterous manipulation, Master-slave control, Dynamic contact, and Augmented Reality. They provide advice and support to innovative high-tech projects in the field of robotics and mechatronics.

IDOM

IDOM Group is an independent employee-owned company of more than 4000 people delivering challenging projects in more than 125 countries over the last 65 years. IDOM takes part in the most advanced and innovative engineering and design projects in the world in power generation, industry, infrastructures, architecture, consulting and nuclear fields providing clear technical and technological added value to their clients.