EPR Hinkley Point C : testing the I&C system

For the two EPRs at Hinkley Point C, TechnicAtome is working on behalf of Framatome on the backup I&C system designed to compensate for a potential failure of the two “standard” control and command systems for EPR operation and protection. This third system must meet the express requirement to use a different technology. Therefore, no software and no digital technology—instead, analog technology (UNICORN) developed by TechnicAtome and its subsidiary ARCYS.

A two-year testing period is now underway: a reactor’s backup I&C system consists of approximately 5,000 electronic circuit boards distributed across 76 cabinets. And there are two reactors to be equipped with the system.

After five years of research and the qualification of a prototype in December 2020, the project has entered a phase of integration and validation testing for the future emergency control and command systems. The gradual delivery of the cabinets marks the beginning of this new phase.