Commercial Nuclear Power Market

Today, nuclear power plants – the second largest source of electricity in the United States – supply approximately 20 percent of the nation’s electricity needs.  Nuclear power plants provide the lowest cost energy source.  They are environmentally friendly and minimally impact water, land, habitat, species and air resources.  The safety of people and the environment is the essence of Curtiss-Wright’s advanced technologies for the nuclear power industry. 

Curtiss-Wright’s valves, pumps, actuators and electronics control the flow of liquids, such as water used in the cooling systems of nuclear reactors.  Curtiss-Wright Flow Control’s broad range of core competencies in engineering, analysis, manufacturing and testing are being applied in the commercial nuclear power industry to achieve improvements in operation and maintenance processes, as well as to address the emerging focus of the industry to extend the life and increase power output of existing plants.  Curtiss-Wright also plays a key role in maintaining the supply of critical components that are no longer available from original equipment manufacturers. 

As demand increases for locally produced, environmentally friendly energy sources, the recognition of nuclear power as a clean, economic and independent energy source is prompting new development.  Curtiss-Wright is at the forefront in developing advanced products for the nuclear power industry’s existing and next-generation commercial nuclear power plants.

Curtiss-Wright is the leading source of several advanced technologies:

• Reactor Coolant Pumps (RCPs) and motors for commercial nuclear pressurized water reactors worldwide;
• Control Rod Drive Mechanisms (CRDMs), which regulate the level of radioactivity in the reactor vessel;
• Reactor Vessel Head Replacements (RVHR) Reactor vessels contain the nuclear fuel in nuclear power plants.  Curtiss-Wright’s advanced design integrates assembly of the CRDMs in a remote location outside of the site containment, providing enhanced safety and extended plant life;
• Hermetically sealed valves that meet the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s technical specifications for use in nuclear reactors;
• Digital Process Control Technology that is helping nuclear power plants address growing concerns over obsolete analog instrumentation; and
• HydraNut® Bolting Solution to provide “hands free” tightening and loosening of critical mechanical joints, reducing maintenance time and improving safety by significantly reducing the risk of exposure for maintenance personnel.

We are committed to providing advanced technologies and innovative solutions to meet the unique nuclear regulatory requirements of operating plants, as well as the construction of new power plants internationally.

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