Expert Focus with Sophie Trieau - HPC (nuclear) Project Manager
For our fifth episode, "Expert Focus" interviews Sophie Trieau, Nuclear Project Manager at Pyrocontrole. Pyrocontrole, part of the Chauvin Arnoux Group, has been specialized in the design of temperature sensors and control solutions for the nuclear industry in France and worldwide for almost half a century. We spoke with Sophie about the nuclear sector today and tomorrow and the technical features involved in the manufacture of our "star" sensors!
- Sophie, how long have you been working in the nuclear sector?
I started out with an English degree, but I quickly understood that teaching was not for me. So I turned to industry, initially as a product certification assistant for electrical goods. I joined Pyrocontrole in 2014 and I've been a project manager since 2021, working mainly on the file for the new Hinkley Point C EPR power plant in the south of England.
I love this new job, I have a key role to play in the process as I provide liaison between our customers' needs in product terms, with a particular focus on conformity, and our production teams at Meyzieu. From production to delivery, the manufacture of the connector and tube may take up to 18 months. Our probes undergo more than ten inspections, with each step duly checked, because our products need to have the same life span as the nuclear plant, which means more than 40 years!
I'm really proud to be working in such a cutting-edge company.
- Which project has surprised you the most?
What has surprised me the most is without any doubt the English Hinkley Point project. The integration of new requirements linked to events in the nuclear sector over the last 20 years, the feedback from the construction of the EPR at Flamanville in France and the accident at the Fukushima plant in Japan. This is helping to make nuclear power ever safer, supplying people with safer, cheap electricity.
I'm looking forward to working on our next major project: Pyrocontrole is in the vanguard of new uge EPR projects.
- The technology is constantly evolving; what do you expect the nuclear sector to look like in the future?
In my opinion, the future of nuclear power will be the EPR 2. It will be a high-power pressurized water reactor generating approximately 1670 megawatts, compared with the roughly 800 megawatts generated by a "traditional" nuclear power station.. EDF is planning to build one in France by 2035, starting with Penly (Seine-Maritime), near Dieppe, followed by Gravelines (Nord) and Bugey (Ain) or Le Tricastin (Drôme), etc. This type of power plant is supposed to be simple to build, with modular prefabrication at the factory designed in advance by a 4D simulator with 3D viewing for better detection of any anomalies.
- What are the advantages offered by our products?
Pyrocontrole has been a major player in the nuclear sector wince the 1970s. This means we have built up more than 40 years' experience in manufacturing temperature sensors. Our sensors are qualified to withstand the most extreme conditions in terms of radiation, earthquakes, temperature and pressure!
Furthermore, our products are qualified from K1 (qualification intended for the safety equipment located in the core of the reactor enclosure) to K3 (for the outer parts of the power station) and we develop our sensors jointly with EDF and FRAMATOME.
But our greatest advantage is our teams! Because Pyrocontrole's staff are closely involved in designing the best possible products, their skills are our most crucial resource.
Qualified temperature sensors for pressurized water reactor.
- What is the advantage of EPR nuclear plants like Flamanville?
There's not just one, but three!
- Greater efficiency because this technology provides productivity gains of more than 10 % compared with a traditional reactor with the same amount of fuel.
- Greater safety, by improving the "confinement barriers", which are more resistant, leak-proof and independent. We learned a lot from the events at Fukushima.
- Lesser environmental impact, because the EPRs will have a life span of 60 years rather than the 40 years offered by the current models.
- Is the fact that our products are "Made in France" an advantage?
We have been nuclear specialists since the 1970s, so yes, the "Made in France" label is a major advantage for Pyrocontrole and for France. It's a guarantee of reliability.
The French nuclear sector includes all the actors involved in nuclear energy generation, guaranteeing total mastery of the professions and know-how necessary.
It therefore contributes significantly to France's energy independence, both today and tomorrow, with the EPR 2 models.
- What is Pyrocontrole's nuclear news?
Even with its experience built up over nearly half a century, Pyrocontrole remains constantly up to date! For the next few years, there are multiple projects, but some are particularly remarkable. In civilian nuclear power, we have new EPR major projects, but we are already starting to work on the future EPR 2 models.
