Engineering, works
and maintenance for the nuclear industry
Ensuring the safety of installations
The nuclear industry sits at the crossroads of two trends. Firstly, low-carbon, relatively cheap nuclear energy is a necessary response to global warming and rising global energy demand. Secondly, the sector’s future relies heavily on the safety of nuclear power plants, waste management solutions, etc. Manufacturers must meet the requirements of the French Nuclear Safety Authority. Following the Fukushima accident in 2011, countries like Germany and Switzerland began to rethink the share of nuclear power in their energy mix.
France, which has 58 reactors, making it the world’s second biggest nuclear power producer after the United States, is making major changes to extend the life of its nuclear fleet by maintaining a maximum level of safety.
Ortec for the nuclear industry
An integrated group with a specialist approach, Ortec supports the nuclear industry in carrying out even the most complex of projects, and ensures the maintenance and operational safety of nuclear plants on a daily basis.
The Major Energy Projects unit (GPE) coordinates the group’s nuclear expertise to ensure the effective management of national framework contracts and of projects to update safety systems or replace key components.
With a total of 750 people, 20 branches and 50 years of experience, the GPE unit coordinates the activities of the Nuclear Works and Nuclear Maintenance departments (Orys) and the Nuclear Engineering department (SOM) on ongoing projects.
- Engineering :
- Études de faisabilité, études préliminaires, Études d’aménagement, analyse de risques…
- Feasibility studies, preliminary studies, fit-out studies, risk analysis, etc.
- Calculations
- Preliminary and final concept design
- Budget estimate
- Preparation of specifications
- Design
- Testing
- Regulatory files
- On-site inspection and readings
- 3D range finding
- Maintenance :
- Piping, metalwork, mechanics, mechanisms, electricity, valves
- Non-destructive testing
- Heavy handling operations
- Industrial cleaning
- Transport
- 1/2
- Sanitation
- Decontamination
- Shutdown operations
Our nuclear industry subsidiaries
- Orys, specialised in the manufacture, assembly, non-destructive testing and maintenance of sheet-metal equipment and piping. Orys has been approved by EDF as a top-tier supplier of nuclear piping and valves for the entire French fleet. Ortys, specialised in the industrial cleaning of nuclear equipment (condensers, heat exchangers, etc.).
- Ortys develops innovative processes such as the NT4 solution or the scale solvent for condensers in nuclear power plants.
Certifications for working in a highly sensitive sector
- ISO 9001: design and implementation of maintenance projects and services in the nuclear and hydraulic energy sectors and in industry, in the areas of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, dismantling, decontamination, handling and transport.
- CEFRI-E: performance of work under ionising radiation in nuclear installations.
- MASE: certification for industrial maintenance activities in the areas of mechanical engineering, valves, metalwork, piping and nuclear dismantling.
Our assets for the nuclear industry
- Experience in managing and steering large projects
- Recognized expertise in calculations: Ortec’s design offices specialized in calculations are working, for example, on the Tokamak, as part of the ITER civil nuclear fusion research reactor project. Ortec-SOM carries out fatigue studies to validate the manufacturing designs of the Tokamak’s vacuum vessel components.
- Constant attention to :
- the availability of the installations,
- the standardization of the maintenance function integrated into the industrial processes,
- control of the cost of ownership of the machine park (including peripheral costs) and maintenance of its performance over time.
- A network of agencies strategically located near 80% of French nuclear power plants
