The past decade has seen the emergence of the next generation of commercial nuclear power plants, commonly referred to as Small Modular Reactors and Advanced Reactors
. The relatively compact reactors, capable of generating up to 600 MW of power, can be “factory produced” and then transported in a few sections to a designated location for assembly. In addition, these reactors employ passive safety technologies that make them safer to operate.
Approximately twenty companies are developing clean, reliable, and economical technologies that will play a significant role in meeting future demand in the U.S. and other nations. It’s projected that hundreds of Small Modular Reactors / Advanced Reactors will be needed by the late 2030s, requiring a significantly different manufacturing approach than is currently used for constructing the current large Light Water Reactor systems.
The fundamentally different approach to manufacturing Small Modular Reactors / Advanced Reactors will challenge both nuclear suppliers as well as regulators. Numerous technical issues must be considered to facilitate efficient production of Small Modular Reactors / Advanced Reactors, from addressing supply chain capabilities to developing mechanized/automated manufacturing processes to support higher demand volumes.
A critical gap exists in providing proven applied advanced manufacturing techniques to this emerging field.
Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) is recognized as one of the world’s premier nonprofit applied scientific research and development organizations for the creation and implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies. The skills and processes developed at CTC are leveraged by the Center for Advanced Nuclear Manufacturing to benefit the U.S. Small Modular Reactors / Advanced Reactors industry and the legacy reactor fleet.
CTC’s quality management system is certified to the ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D:2016; CTC’s environmental management system is certified to 14001:2015.
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