Westinghouse to supply Swedish plant with innovative control rods

Westinghouse Electric Co. announced yesterday that it will provide Sweden’s Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant with control rods in its latest design, CR 99+, which are built to optimize integrity while providing redundancy features to make them safer.

“This contract is proof that Westinghouse anticipates customer needs. Our innovative solutions help meet ever-increasing regulatory requirements and achieve customer operational performance standards,” Westinghouse’s Vice President and Managing Director for Northern Europe Aziz Dag said. “Our belief is that this control rod design contract will serve as a good reference for future orders.”

The rods will be manufactured and shipped from Westinghouse’s Västerås, Sweden, facility, which has provided Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant with more than 1,000 control rods. The latest CR 99+ design features increased absorber material, giving it an increased lifespan in addition to the latest developments in safety.

Westinghouse has a history of nuclear innovation, installing the first pressurized water reactor in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, in 1957, and roughly half of the world’s nuclear reactors incorporate the company’s technology. It is a group company of the Toshiba Corp.