Decarbonize Using Advanced Engineering
GSE invests in R&D to deliver unique solutions that add value to our end-user markets. Our services leverage the high-end expertise of our experienced staff in helping plants operate better and more efficiently. Our solutions, coupled with deep staff expertise, supports multiple industries including the nuclear industry, as a part of the larger decarbonization drive. GSE’s software technology includes decision-support tools for engineering simulation supporting design and plant commissioning, operational performance tools, and training platform.
According to World Energy Outlook report, 2019 was the second-highest energy generation year for nuclear in history. And the trend shows increases will continue. By 2030, nuclear generation capacity is expected to reach 450 GW. Most new plants will be build in developing economies like China and India, while advanced economies will invest to extend the life and increase the output of existing nuclear reactors to bridge the gap to a new generation of reactors under development. Nuclear currently provides 10 percent of the world’s power, and 20 percent of the power in the United States. President Biden is on record indicating a desire to decarbonize the US power sector by 2035 and achieve a carbon-neutral grid by 2050. To support this effort, the Department of Energy has made significant investments in the development of next-generation, zero-carbon energy production through advanced reactors and small modular reactors from Terra Power, X-Energy, NuScale and others.
With these realities in place, designers of first-of-a-kind plants and existing plants need a highly accurate dynamic simulation platform to model a wide variety of design assumptions and concepts from control strategies to plant behavior to human factors. Because new builds and upgrades to existing plants result in deployment of new technology, often involving the integration of disparate technologies for the first time, a high-fidelity simulator enables designers to model the interaction between systems in advance of construction. With a combination of simulation technology and expert engineering, GSE was chosen to build first-of-a-kind simulators for the AP1000, PBMR, and small modular reactors. Going forward we forecast that many of the optimization techniques and strategies currently in use will be incorporated to new-build prototypes as they contribute to clean, carbon free, power requirements.
GSE is also focused on improving the thermal performance of power plants. We have introduced the next-generation platform in TSM Enterprise, providing the technology solution to centralize and continuously monitor plant thermal performance across the fleet. The solution automates standardized reporting in modern dashboards, leverages automation to facilitate troubleshooting plant performance issues, reduces time and error with direct access to source data, and applies industry guidelines for problem resolution. The platform also supports integration with Data Validation and Reconciliation that enhances the quality of data for analysis and decision making.
In the area of engineering simulations, GSE leads in nuclear core and Balance-of-Plant modeling and visualization systems. To address the industry’s need for more accurate simulation of both normal and accident scenarios, we provide our DesignEP® and RELAP5-HD® solutions. Our entire JADETM suite of simulation software delivers the most accurate simulation of Balance-of-Plant and electrical systems available in the plant simulation market. Significant enhancements allow you to be more efficient in the daily operation of your simulators and create unified environments that meet industry requests and market needs.
