General Electric Hitachi Brings VR Training to Nuclear Energy Industry

General Electric Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) is utilizing its Nuclear Virtual Reality Solution (VRS) tool to help nuclear power plant operators train personnel for outage, operations and maintenance work.

The solution helps plant personnel train for operational scenarios encountered during maintenance and refueling outages including vessel disassembly and reassembly, fuel movement and inspections.

"The Nuclear Virtual Reality Solution is a powerful tool for collaboration and advanced plant outage training," said John Mackleer, Senior Vice President, Field Services for GEH. "Virtual Reality immersive rooms enable outage and maintenance personnel to gain realistic, practical experience including training for scenarios that cannot be recreated in physical mock-ups or during plant power run cycles."

GEH has deployed a Nuclear VRS immersive room at its global headquarters in Wilmington, N.C. and is utilizing the solution to train its field services personnel in advance of the spring 2022 outage season. Personnel from two U.S. nuclear power plants will also take part in plant-specific technical training which includes supervisor and fuel movement certification.

Nuclear VRS offers the flexibility to replicate the layout of different plants, including boiling water reactors and pressurized water reactors, and fuel movement technologies. The Nuclear VRS technology also provides an immersive and interactive look at the BWRX-300, GEH's small modular reactor. GEH is working to deploy a VR immersive room at its Canadian SMR headquarters in Ontario to enable stakeholders and others to see this technology up close through walkable simulations of plant design including the refuel floor and drywell.