Nuclear

Howden supplies highly specialised blower packages for the nuclear industry, and equipment for a number of other applications. Howden is leading the way in developing helium gas circulators for the latest inherently fail-safe pebble bed modular reactors (PBMR).

We designed and developed the CO₂ circulators, or submerged blowers, that provide the heat transfer in the Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGRs) that provide the bulk of the UK’s nuclear generated electricity; units that once installed operate with no maintenance during plant operation. We also provided the centrifugal and axial fans used in the cooling and other auxiliary systems.

For the more common water cooled reactors, we supply the fans associated with the various safety systems and reactor building cooling, and the diaphragm compressors for radioactive gas leak recovery. Where these gases have to be compressed to high pressure it is our compressors that are mainly preferred.

Our encapsulated blowers have been used in the auxiliary systems of demonstration fusion reactors.

For reprocessing plants, specialised centrifugal fans are used for cell cooling and diaphragm compressors for pressure testing. For decommissioning, centrifugal fans are used for ventilation and cooling.