Advanced Reactor Site Gets Operator Training Simulator

Curtiss-Wright has delivered and completed installation of the Stage 1 Training Simulator (TSN) at TerraPower’s Natrium site in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The TSN is a full-scope simulator that will replicate plant equipment and simulate system conditions and operations to support operator training and licensing. It is built on Curtiss-Wright’s 3KEYMASTER real-time simulation and analysis software.

Under previously awarded contracts, Curtiss-Wright is also developing the Distributed Control Systems (DCS) and the Reactor Protection System (RPS) for the plant. The Natrium design features a 345-megawatt sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt-based energy storage system that can boost output to 500 megawatts when needed. Kemmerer Unit 1 is expected to be the first utility-scale advanced nuclear power plant.

“Building the world’s most advanced reactor demands an equally advanced approach to operator training,” said George Piccard, Vice President Plant Operations at TerraPower. “By working with Curtiss-Wright to deliver the Natrium Training Simulator, we are laying the foundation to scale a qualified nuclear workforce across every future Natrium plant and ensuring our operators are fully prepared long before the plant comes online.”