As part of the project, the French nuclear company designed, manufactured, tested and installed its Teleperm XS digital platform, which it said will improve plant safety and support long-term operation.
The Doel and Framatome teams installed Teleperm XS in the emergency control rooms at Units 1 and 2. The system controls and monitors the nuclear safety equipment, reinforcing the security of the plant.
The emergency systems monitored by the Teleperm XS system are mainly responsible for the removal of residual heat from the primary circuit and for managing the pressure and water/boron concentration.
Belgium’s nuclear regulator also required several design upgrades to support the long-term operation of Doel-1 and -2. Framatome said it had integrated those upgrades in the new Teleperm XS platform.
Doel-1, a 445 MW pressurised water reactor unit, began commercial operation in February 1975. Doel-2, a 433 PWR, began commercial operation in December 1975.
Doel units 1 and 2 are pressurised water reactor units with an installed net capacity of 433 megawatts each.
French energy corporation Engie SA operates and has majority ownership of the units through its 100%-owned Belgian subsidiary Electrabel.
Belgium has a fleet of seven commercial reactor units – four at Doel near Antwerp and three at Tihange near Liège – providing more than 50% of the country’s electricity.
Plans to shut them down by 2025 were established in a law of 2003 and confirmed in 2015 and again in 2018. A commission is assessing the impact of the phaseout, but its findings are still pending.