W.S.G. Isaac Newton

Assessment extended lifetime enrichment plant Urenco

During this internship, I was tasked to determine if one of the enrichment plants at Urenco Netherlands is still fit for a longer lifetime. The goal was to find if equipment, mainly cooling equipment is able to run for an extended time until 2030. To find a solution to this research question a determination of cooling requirements, maintenance history of equipment and power use in the factory was made. At the end it was found that cooling requirements would diminish over the year, the chillers were used optimally with regards to lifetime and therefore the factory is still fit for 2030. Next to this, updates in the cooling setup could lead to energy savings. During my internship, I was given the opportunity to really be a part of the engineering group. I was able to contribute to the design and overall discussions during meetings. I enjoyed my time at Urenco and learned about the safety at the plant, processes the lifecycle of nuclear fuel as well.