Toshiba to reinforce nuclear power plant engineering
(Top News, 02 Nov 2007 )
Toshiba Corporation has announced that it will construct a new nuclear power engineering facility at Isogo Nuclear Engineering Center (IEC) in Yokohama, Japan, the company's main engineering center for its nuclear power business. The new facility will underpin Toshiba's continuing efforts to enhance engineering support for its domestic and overseas nuclear power plant business. Construction will start in February 2008 and is scheduled for completion before March 2009.
As the world experiences a nuclear renaissance, there is growing demand for construction of new nuclear power plants and for aftermarket services for installed equipment, both to assure stable supply of electricity and because nuclear energy generation is a clean power source that does not produce CO2. In meeting this demand, Toshiba will continue to provide world-class nuclear power plant engineering and to support diverse market needs in Japan and overseas. With the addition of the new facility, a total staff of more than 3,000 will be employed at IEC in the future.
The new facility will be equipped with state-of-the-art engineering tools, including advanced-CAD, high-speed massively parallel processing computers and highly secure information networks. Collaboration spaces will support interactive cooperation with customers and equipment suppliers.
The new facility will be a highly robust, with a quake-absorbing structure able to resist temblors with a seismic intensity of upper 6 on the Japanese scale (6.8 on the Richter scale), the same intensity as the very strong quake that hit Niigata Prefecture in northern Japan in July this year. Advanced anti-liquefaction measures will also be deployed. These measures will secure infrastructure and data, prevent loss of engineering functions in such areas as design and quality assurance, and provide continuity of operations and customer support in the event of an earthquake.
Toshiba has consistently led the Japanese nuclear power generation industry since entering the nuclear power business over 40 years ago, in 1966. Since 1982, IEC has been the company's core facility for promoting nuclear power plant engineering work for boiling water reactors (BWR), fast-breeder reactors and the nuclear fuel cycle.
