Digital twin to assist in operating Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh

MOSCOW, October 12. /TASS/. A unique digital operator assistant will help manage the power units at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Bangladesh, Filipp Korotkov, head of the press service at Rosatom Automated Control Systems (RASU), told TASS.

"Rosatom has completed equipping the first and second power units of the Rooppur NPP with automated process control systems (APCS). The APCS supplied to Bangladesh's first nuclear power plant includes hardware and software complexes for process monitoring, control, and safety. An assistant - an operator information support system (OISS) developed by JSC RASU based on a digital twin of the power unit - will serve as part of the power units' 'brain.' The system has already been integrated and is participating in the commissioning operations for Power Unit No. 1; it will also be installed at Power Unit No. 2," Korotkov said.

According to Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev, Rooppur is the state corporation's first overseas plant to implement the operator information support system.

"Rooppur NPP is not only the largest cooperation project between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Bangladesh but also our flagship in utilizing modern automation and control technologies. It is Rosatom's first overseas plant to implement the Operator Information Support System. Using this system enables faster response times and reduces operating costs. Thanks to this unique Russian development, power unit control room personnel will have a reliable assistant," Likhachev noted.

The APCS supplied to Rooppur NPP comprises approximately 20,000 pieces of equipment across 43 systems. They will ensure the monitoring of over 7,000 process parameters, including the operational stability of the reactor unit. The operator information support system will aggregate disparate process data and present it in a user-friendly format, making the operators' work more convenient and efficient. As Korotkov noted, the OISS analyzes indicators from 360 process systems, detects deviations, and provides the operator with prompts and recommendations, choosing from more than 80 instructions, including emergency response procedures.

About Rooppur NPP

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, featuring two VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 2,400 MW, is being constructed under a Russian design 160 km from Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, in accordance with the general contract signed on December 25, 2015. A Russian design utilizing VVER-1200 reactors was selected for Bangladesh's first nuclear power plant. Rosatom's flagship VVER-1200 reactors have already proven their efficiency and reliability during the operation of reference power units. This is an evolutionary Generation III+ design that fully complies with international safety standards. On Monday, the reactor of Power Unit 1 at the Rooppur NPP was brought to the minimum controlled power level.