US-based security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin has entered into an agreement with State Nuclear Power Automation System Engineering Company (SNPAS) to prototype, manufacture and qualify protection systems for China's Generation III nuclear reactors.
SNPAS is a subsidiary of China’s State Nuclear Power Technology.
The companies will together develop nuclear safety instrumentation and control platform based on field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology.
The FPGA-based platform will monitor and detect potential failures in software related failures in the digital nuclear safety systems to ensure smooth operations of the facility.
Lockheed Martin nuclear systems and solutions general manager Jim Gribschaw said, "We recognize the importance of nuclear power as a critical energy alternative for increased demand and have been developing instrumentation and control systems for more than 55 years."
The safety instrumentation and control platform can be deployed at new power plants or can be used in safety system upgrades for existing power plants.
Lockheed and SNPAS have submitted a Licensing Topical Report to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and China National Nuclear Safety Administration to use the platform at nuclear plants in US, China and international civilian nuclear power plants.