Westinghouse Electric Company announced today that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved the state-of-the-art eVinci™ Advanced Logic System® (ALS) Version 2 (v2) instrumentation and control (I&C) platform through a Final Safety Evaluation Report on two topical reports. The groundbreaking approvals make the eVinci microreactor the first and only microreactor with an NRC-approved I&C system, opening a path to autonomous operation.
ALS v2 is a universal, logic-based platform that controls safety-critical systems using hardware instead of software or a computer chip. This transformational approach to operating a microreactor minimizes the need for operator oversight allowing for more automation and greater safety. In addition, the approvals allow the ALS v2 control system to be used by any reactor currently in the U.S. fleet.
“NRC approval of these first topical reports for the state-of-the-art eVinci control system is a major licensing milestone,” said Jon Ball, President of eVinci Technologies at Westinghouse. “This will advance our future goal of autonomous operation, as the eVinci control system minimizes operator input, even during operations like load-following.”
The eVinci microreactor builds on decades of industry-leading Westinghouse innovation to bring carbon-free, safe and scalable energy wherever it is needed for a variety of applications, including providing reliable electricity and heating for data centers, the oil and gas industry, mining operations, remote communities, universities, industrial centers, and defense facilities, and soon the lunar surface and beyond. The resilient eVinci microreactor has very few moving parts, working essentially as a battery, providing the versatility for power systems ranging from several kilowatts to 5 megawatts of electricity, delivered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for eight-plus years without refueling. The technology is factory-built and assembled before it is shipped in a container.
