Article
Source: Nuclear Engineering International
Article
10.04.17
According to the World Nuclear Association, there are currently 447 commercial nuclear power reactors operable in 30 countries, with 58 more reactors under construction. This presents a huge potential market for a wide range of equipment and service providers, across the full scope of the supply chain. New nuclear plants cost tens of billions of pounds to construct and commission, and typically have a useful service life of up to sixty years. While nuclear plants do have some special attributes, the current designs are fundamentally the same as fossil plants: they boil water to make steam to drive a turbine-generator to make electricity.
The large scale of nuclear power development projects presents a huge opportunity for suppliers of every tier and there are conscious efforts in countries such as the UK to revitalise the nuclear supply chain. There is a broad spectrum of opportunity for manufacturers and service providers who have not traditionally participated in the nuclear supply chain, but such participation should be only with a clear understanding of the nuclear liability risks involved. But what risks should be considered by a prospective supplier and how might such risks be addressed?
Consider what could happen in the event that something goes wrong at a nuclear plant and your firm’s goods or services were a contributing cause. For example, what if your company is the supplier of an emergency generator that fails to start, resulting in damage to the nuclear plant and subsequent damage to the public at large and the environment? What if your company is the supplier of control systems for critical plant equipment that fails to work when called upon? Events at nuclear plants resulting in core damage occur very infrequently, but history has shown that they do occur.
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