Politicians want new nuclear power plants, but suitable personnel are scarce. A new Zeeland initiative should change this.

There will be four new nuclear power plants and the existing one in Borssele will stay open longer. With these plans, the government wants to take a big step towards making the Dutch electricity supply more sustainable. Besides wind and solar energy, nuclear energy will thus have an important place in the future energy mix. In the province of Zeeland alone, current plans call for the construction of two new nuclear power plants, supplemented by an as yet unknown number of small, flexible nuclear reactors (SMRs).

Although the final Cabinet decision has yet to be made, Zeeland does not want to wait. 'The reason is clear: Zeeland has been designated a preferred location for two possible new nuclear power plants. The province wants to prepare for this, especially in terms of manpower,' says Robert Trouwborst, lecturer of the Critical Materials research group at HZ University of Applied Sciences in Vlissingen and project leader of NUCLEUS.

Right skills

A major bottleneck is the lack of personnel with the right nuclear knowledge and skills. That is why several educational institutions and organisations from the nuclear sector have joined forces. With the NUCLEUS project, which was launched recently, they aim to strengthen existing training courses and expand them with specialised modules for working in and around nuclear power plants.

NUCLEUS, which would stand for Nuclear Education with the Use of Simulators in Zeeland, builds on the Energy Campus Zeeland project of mbo institution Scalda, HZ University of Applied Sciences and innovation hub Dockwize. The Borssele nuclear power plant , radioactive waste processor COVRA and the Nuclear Academy, a collaboration between NRG Pallas and TU Delft, are also taking part in the initiative. The European Union and the province of Zeeland are jointly providing €8.2 million for the next three years.

According to Trouwborst, the programme is emphatically not only aimed at operators of future nuclear power plants. 'With this initiative, we especially want to better connect the current economy to that future. We not only want to train people who will soon be at the controls of the nuclear power plant, but also employees of potential suppliers. One example is the construction of a cooling system. 'It would be nice if companies and craftsmen in the region could make and supply that, instead of having to bring in a construction kit from France by ship.'

Reactor simulator

In the coming period, the participating organisations will build a complete learning and research environment around nuclear energy. An important part of this will be an educational reactor simulator. There will also be serious games that allow students to interactively learn about the practicalities of a nuclear power plant and everything around it. So-called learning stations will also be set up where students can work together on nuclear issues.

'Actually, we want to involve the whole Zeeland chain, from engineering and ICT to possibly even the social domain,' says Trouwborst. 'It is also important that all those people learn to work together, for example system administrators from the mbo with those from the hbo.'

The new immersive classroom which is currently being built at Scalda, will also have an important role. In this room, the walls consist entirely of touch-function LED screens, and virtual reality techniques can be used to simulate various practical situations. Students and professionals can practice topics such as radiation safety, emergency procedures and process optimisation there.

'With serious games and simulation rooms, students really have to think for themselves and solve situations, it is a very active way of learning,' says Trouwborst. 'With that immersive technology, we can bring technology close to the student.'

Nuclear education environment

The new nuclear modules should enrich existing courses. The consortium aims to retrain about a hundred students and 25 professionals every year. This should turn the existing Energy Campus Zeeland into a fully-fledged nuclear education environment.

The project will initially run for three years. Trouwborst hopes it will lay the foundations for a permanent infrastructure. 'Some parts of the programme may stop, but I expect that by then much will have been created that will be permanent. There are bound to be elements that we can continue.'

He points to Zeeland's unique position. 'This province has a special responsibility in the energy mix of the future. With the nuclear power plants, but also with the wind farms off the coast. There are also hydrogen initiatives and a thorium test plant.'

There is said to be great interest among students. 'We already have a lot of focus on renewable energy in the programme as well, with a section on nuclear energy and a visit to the reactor in Petten. They like it very much.'

Photo: HZ