The UK government’s nuclear fusion reactor program, named spherical tokamak for energy production (STEP), aims to produce power plants that are “a safe, low carbon and sustainable part of the world’s energy supply with [the] potential to help sustain net zero in the future.” It’s clear to see why this would be of interest, since it is “an industry expected to be worth billions to the UK economy.”
The STEP reactor program is run by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and is structured into 3 phases:
- 2019-2024: for concept design, site selection and future commercial modeling.
- 2024-2033: for engineering design and infrastructure planning.
- 2032-2040: for constructing the prototype power plant.
In October 2022, the UK government confirmed that the West Burton power station site located in North Nottinghamshire, England, will be repurposed to home the ground-breaking STEP fusion energy program. But designing, testing, building and repurposing what is already on site into a prototype reactor will require large-scale infrastructure and development activities.
Per a Dassault Systèmes press release, the UKAEA then announced they selected the 3DEXPERIENCE to not only manage the engineering process, but to also act as the collaboration platform across the project through its supply chain and plant development lifecycle. As a result, the platform will be used by STEP program architects, engineers, contractors, suppliers, operating companies and other stakeholders.
For more context, I will discuss the intersection between product lifecycle management (PLM), building information modeling (BIM) and digital asset management (DAM) throughout the lifecycle of products, buildings and infrastructure.
Catching Up on PLM, BIM and DAM Technology
First, a refresh on what PLM, BIM and DAM mean for the purposes of this conversation. Our working definitions will be:
- PLM: an end-to-end process of managing a product or asset throughout its entire lifecycle, from ideation and design to manufacturing, operation and disposal.
- BIM: a digital mockup of the functional and physical characteristics of a building or infrastructure—involving the creation and management of digital models that contain information about a construction project's geometry, spatial relationships, materials, quantities, cost and more.
- DAM: an organization, storage, retrieval and distribution tool for digital assets, such as images, videos, documents and other media files—coupled with metadata management, version control, search functionality and rights management to ensure efficient asset utilization.
Second, a refresher on nuclear fusion. In this case, it is defined on the UKAEA website as “the process that takes place in the heart of stars and provides the power that drives the universe. When light nuclei fuse to form a heavier nucleus, they release bursts of energy. This is the opposite of nuclear fission—the reaction that is used in nuclear power stations today—in which energy is released when a nucleus splits apart to form smaller nuclei.”
UKAEA has selected the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to support the transition from nuclear fission to fusion. To that end, Corinne Bulota, vice president, Infrastructure, Energy & Materials Industry at Dassault Systèmes, highlighted the importance of sustainable energy and the key role technology takes to enable “capital project innovations like UKAEA’s STEP program that are driving the energy sector’s transformation as it urgently works toward alternative, sustainable innovations.”
The Role 3DEXPEREINCE Can Play for UKAEA and Other BIM Users
The energy sector is undergoing a significant transformation to modernize operations, improve efficiency, enhance sustainability and adapt to changing market dynamics. Integrating digital technologies (from AR and VR to IoT) combined with real-time communication, data analytics and automation contributes to fostering a more efficient, sustainable and customer-centric energy ecosystems.
PLM, BIM and associated DAM practices drive similar objectives to enable extended collaboration practices across internal and external stakeholder groups with integrated change traceability: from digital mock-up to design review, process simulation, project management, operations, asset and facility management. The lines between product manufacturing practices, building architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) projects have started to blur with BIM Level 3 and other standards—promoting the use of integrated data assets and industrialization processes toward building lifecycle management.
Speaking about this integration, Chris Waldon, STEP Delivery Director, highlighted in a press release that “the STEP program is working hard to design and build a prototype fusion energy plant that demonstrates the ability to put electricity on the national grid. One of the challenges […] is the development and management of huge amounts of engineering design data and we are looking forward to working with Dassault Systèmes to develop the virtual twin of the design, using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.”
PLM and BIM serve different notions: the former focuses on product innovation and development version control, whereas the latter focuses on AEC contractual interactions, operations productivity, efficiency, asset traceability and maintenance. However, just like manufacturers, building contractors are subject to commercial and circular economy targets. A building is also a product; it must be designed and configured, and it has a lifecycle.
The business benefits and opportunities for the energy sector to merge PLM, BIM and DAM functionality into a building lifecycle management system, include:
- Advanced reactor design and innovation: using CAD and simulation software to optimize fuel cycles, safety systems and develop next-generation nuclear technologies.
- Regulatory compliance and reporting: through integrated analytics and automation.
- Plant monitoring and operations optimization: to drive predictive and corrective maintenance, improve safety, minimize downtime and enhance efficiency.
- Nuclear safety and security: from cybersecurity to protect sensitive information to advanced plant monitoring.
- Simulation and training: by leveraging digital capabilities to enhance contextual immersion.
- Data analytics, reusability and predictive modeling: when processing large amount of historical and real-time data to improve performance, optimize fuel usage and predict maintenance needs.
- Nuclear waste and disposal management: including tracking, monitoring and disposal processes.
To capitalize on this, Dassault Systèmes launched an industry solution called “Capital Facilities Information Excellence.” It addresses the challenges and improves the productivity of capital projects, particularly in the field of facility and infrastructure development. Specifically, the solution can contribute to the productivity improvement of capital projects by up to 15 percent, as mentioned in the UKAEA press release. Whereas Dassault Systèmes’ website mentions that 3DEXPERIENCE customers have reported “productivity increases of 6 [percent] in large capital projects.” Either way, Dassault claims its portfolio enables better project planning, streamlined workflows, enhanced decision-making and improved coordination among various teams and disciplines involved in the project.
Beyond the actual saving quantification, it would be interesting to understand how specific BIM and data asset maintenance processes are embedded in the platform or integrated within the wider Dassault Systèmes ecosystem. It will also be interesting to see what effort is required to drive effective user adoption across the relevant trades and value chains.