A Lockheed Martin subsidiary opened a new office near Dallas Friday as it works on reactor safety systems under an earlier agreement with China's State Nuclear Power Technology Corp.
The Fort Worth Business Press reported that 50 people will work at the location in design and manufacturing. The partnership dates back to 2010 when the two companies agreed to jointly develop reactor protection systems for China's Generation III reactors. In an earlier release, Lockheed Martin indicated they were designing an instrumentation and control platform around a field-programmable gate array technology the companies aim to use in new and existing plants. They have petitioned regulators for the system's use in China and the U.S.
As China rapidly expands the number of nuclear plants operating in the country, it has also sought to enhance its domestic reactor technology. According to the World Nuclear Association, SNPTC signed an agreement with Westinghouse in late 2007 for the construction of four reactors at Sanmen and Haiyang that included a technology transfer agreement for Westinghouse's Generation III AP1000 design. The CAP1000 is a localized version of the reactor. Westinghouse was also working with Chinese firms on a more powerful version of the plant, known as the CAP1400, for large-scale deployment and possible exports.