Rolls-Royce receives US certification for nuclear digital safety Instrumentation and Control technology

Rolls-Royce market-leading digital safety Instrumentation and Control (I&C) platform, known as Spinline™, has received certification for use in America’s civil nuclear power reactors by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC).

Spinline™ is a technology-independent platform that enables power utilities to enhance nuclear safety and operational efficiency over the lifetime of their plant. It is designed to underpin safety-critical I&C systems such as the Reactor Protection System (RPS) and the Neutron Instrumentation system (NIS), in new nuclear power plants and for the modernisation of existing safety I&C systems in operating plants.

Eric Blanc, President – I&C, Rolls-Royce said: “This certification marks a significant milestone in the 40-year history of our market-leading safety I&C technology platform. Our customers have already chosen SpinlineTM technology for 76 Pressurised Water Reactors and Russian-designed VVER reactors worldwide.

“Receiving US certification now opens the door for us to work with nuclear utility customers in North America and further across the world to help them achieve the highest levels of safety and plant availability over the long-term.”

Jean-Michel Palaric, I&C Technical Director, added: “This is testimony to the hard work of our people and our technology. More than 10,000 pages of documentation had to be produced covering how the technology works, its qualification and related processes, prior to formal certification being issued. We were proud to be commended by the US NRC during the process for our embedded safety culture"

Rolls-Royce provides I&C systems and solutions to more than 200 nuclear reactors worldwide through its US operational delivery unit and its I&C centre of excellence based in Grenoble, France.

1. Rolls-Royce’s vision is to create better power for a changing world via two main business segments, Aerospace and Land & Sea. These business segments address markets with two strong technology platforms, gas turbines and reciprocating engines. Aerospace comprises Civil Aerospace and Defence Aerospace. Land & Sea comprises Marine, Nuclear and Power Systems.
2. Rolls-Royce has customers in more than 120 countries, comprising more than 380 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces, 4,000 marine customers, including 70 navies, and 1,200 power and nuclear customers.
3. Our business is focused on the 4Cs:
   * Customer – placing the customer at the heart of our business
   * Concentration – deciding where to grow and where not to
   * Cost – continually looking to increase efficiency
   * Cash – improving financial performance.
4. Annual underlying revenue was £15.5 billion in 2013, around half of which came from the provision of aftermarket services. The firm and announced order book stood at £70.4 billion at 30 June 2014.
5. In 2013, Rolls-Royce invested £1.1 billion on research and development. We also support a global network of 31 University Technology Centres, which position Rolls-Royce engineers at the forefront of scientific research.
6. Rolls-Royce employs over 55,000 people in 45 countries. Over 17,000 of these are engineers. The Energy businesses transferred to Siemens in December 2014, have just under 2,100 permanent employees.
7. The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills. In 2013 we employed 379 graduates and 288 apprentices through our worldwide training programmes. Globally we have over 1,000 Rolls-Royce STEM ambassadors who are actively involved in education programmes and activities; we have set ourselves a target to reach 6 million people through our STEM outreach activities by 2020.
8. Spinline™ technology underpins the highest rating, Class 1E Instrumentation and control systems, such as Reactor Protection System (RPS) and Neutron Instrumentation system, Process Instrumentation System, ESFAS and Diesel Load Sequencing System; both in new nuclear power plants and for modernisation of existing safety I&C systems in established plants.
9. Rolls-Royce has a large and highly experienced nuclear skills base with approximately 4000 employees in the UK, France, the Czech Republic, North America and China.
10. Rolls-Royce provides nuclear power utility vendors and operators with integrated, long-term solutions and support services spanning the whole reactor lifecycle, from concept design through to obsolescence management and plant life extension. With nuclear expertise including component manufacturing, licensing, project and supply chain management as well as world-class engineering, the company has been a key player in the industry for over 50 years.
11. Rolls-Royce integrated I&C solutions are based on world-class engineering and state-of-the-art technology that combines hardware, electronic and software components to produce a unique digital I&C platform for both new nuclear power plants and the refurbishment of existing plants. Rolls-Royce digital I&C solutions are designed to provide safety and performance through technology and long term support
12. Spinline™ has evolved from the first digital integrated protection system (SPIN) developed by Rolls-Royce, which was the first safety digital I&C technology installed worldwide in 1984 on Paluel 2 reactor in France.
13. Spinline™ has been chosen for major I&C modernisation programmes worldwide.
    * Dukovany I&C refurbishment in the Czech Republic, completed in 2009 as the replacement of the plant’s original safety I&C equipment.
    * In 2011, EDF and Areva chose Spinline as safety I&C systems technology for the modernization of 20 units of its 1300 MW PWRs (biggest modernization project in the world).
    * More recently, in May 2014, Spinline has been chose by Fortum for the I&C modernization of 2 VVER units in Loviisa, Finland.