The US Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor
MNES seeks to be an “evolutionary” provider of nuclear equipment and services by building on existing technologies rather than to attempt revolutionary advancements. The US-APWR grew out of the expertise gained by Mitsubishi’s construction of 24 PWRs in Japan.
The new US-APWR design, specifically engineered for the United States, achieves superior safety, reliability, economy and compatibility with the environment. We strive to achieve an eco-friendly, diversified power industry with nuclear power stations being the safest, most reliable and most efficient in the industry.
The basic design of the PWR plant is simple: pressurized water is used as the reactor coolant and the reactor and turbine systems are separated by steam generators in an indirect cycle system. This results in a “Primary Side” and “Secondary Side” system, reducing the portion of the plant which experiences radioactivity and allowing for very low occupational exposure.
Improvements in the US-APWR over earlier designs include a thermal efficiency of 39%, the highest in the industry; a 20% reduction in plant building volume; and greater economy by increasing power generation capacity to the 1,700 megawatt class.
Safety is the most important requirement of a nuclear power plant. The US-APWR incorporates numerous technical improvements to further enhance its safety features. The design philosophy of “independency and redundancy” is applied to the emergency core cooling system. The probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) technique has been applied to minimize the risk of accidents of all levels of severity and verify plant safety if an accident does occur.
Mitsubishi manufactures the heavy components of the primary system for the US-APWR in its Kobe Shipyard which is uniquely capable of the task. The remaining 70% of the plant (such as compressors, small pumps, tanks, valves, process sensors, cranes, hoists, and HVAC), are made in the US.