TECHNICATOME - Naval Propulsion Equipment and Systems

TECHNICATOME is an engineering company that specializes in safety and reliable systems and equipment for naval industry, and especially for nuclear naval propulsion. Belonging to the AREVA group, the world leader of nuclear technologies, TECHNICATOME has long experience with complex systems, requiring very high levels of safety, reliability and availability.

TECHNICATOME, all along its thirty years of development and growth, has enhanced its capacity to answer customers' requirements in terms of safety and reliability in severe environments, such as naval propulsion, defence, transport, aeronautics and industry.

NUCLEAR REACTORS AND BOILER SYSTEMS - DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

TECHNICATOME has been involved in a number of key projects covering a wide range of operation needs, these include:

Design, turnkey development and in-service follow-up of all French naval nuclear boiler systems on board SSN (class 'Le Rubis'), SSBN (class 'Le Triomphant') and aircraft carriers (class 'Charles de Gaulle').

Design, turnkey development and operation of experimental reactors and research reactors for the French Regulatory Commission (CEA): from 'ORPHEE' a multipurpose nuclear research reactor based in Saclay near Paris, to the future 'RJH', the Jules Horowitz reactor, which will provide essential support for the electricity generating reactors and will be the European reference tool for neutron irradiations.

Design and operation of land-based test reactors, dedicated to training and qualification of materials and equipment: from the first French land-based prototype reactor 'PAT', to the future test reactor 'RES', which will provide feedback, forecasting and management of technical problems that may arise on board of ships at sea.

Manufacture of nuclear fuel components, in order to manage all the fuel cycle for naval propulsion.

Radioactive disposal and low and medium activity waste treatment, warehousing, final storage and declassification of nuclear facilities.

Measurements, tests, noise and vibrations, acoustic discretion: the company has equipped the railway industry with:

• Training of monitoring and operating teams
• Safety studies, risk management and human factors management
• Design and operation of test benches (test bench for gas turbines, etc.)
• Design and operation of command and control systems (on-board and ground systems) especially for the French national railways SNCF, for the Parisian subway operator RATP and for the English-French operator of the Shuttle

SAFETY, RELIABILITY AND AVAILABILITY: A UNIQUE PROFILE

Because of its unique and specific profile as both a designer and an operator, the company has created, right from its early days, a branch dedicated to operations and tests, which also provides valuable feedback, training, forecasting and management of technical problems encountered by its clients.

A second branch is concerned with designing, developing and commissioning systems and equipment requiring high levels of safety, reliability and availability for transport market, designing and developing test benches, experimental devices for research community, and commissioning facilities.

In thirty years, the company developed a sharp knowledge of high-risk environment which makes it today, one of the main companies dedicated to these markets.

COMPLETE NUCLEAR SOLUTIONS

TECHNICATOME is totally dedicated to the satisfaction of customer requirements. 70% of the workforce is comprised of engineers and technicians; we use up-to-date material resources such as design and computer equipment, platforms for qualification and evaluation of systems and components, experimental reactors and simulators. We have a fabrication workshop, a training centre, accreditation for nuclear workers and a safe-software development workshop. All this is reinforced and supplemented by the group's several subsidiaries, which enable us to supply the complete solution.

TECHNICATOME will be present at the international Le Bourget exhibition in June 2003.