The Technological Innovation prize, awarded on 4 July, goes to the European R&D project SCHEDULE (Steel Concrete High Efficiency Demonstration-eUropean colLaborative Experience). To be implemented between 2018 and 2023, the project is being led by a consortium comprising the Steel Construction Institute (SCI), CEA, EDF, Egis, Bouygues TP, Peikko, OCAS NV and ArcelorMittal Industeel.
The aim of the SCHEDULE project was to design and construct a prototype building representative of a nuclear facility using mixed "Steel-Concrete" construction technology. This technology consists of prefabricating metal modules made up of sheets, connectors and spacers, which are then transported, installed and joined together on site before concreting.
The construction of this prototype (a "Diesel Ultime Secours" built 58 times by EDF) enabled us to gather comprehensive technical feedback and compare it with the conventional reinforced concrete technology used for the vast majority of nuclear installations.
The project's conclusions confirm the applicability of this technology to the construction of new nuclear facilities. In fact, this modular construction methodology is suitable for new SMR projects, as well as for optimising the civil engineering of high-power reactors such as the EPR. Above all, it reduces the duration of worksites and the number of hours worked on the construction site, which is crucial to the viability of a large number of projects.
