U.S. Secretary of Energy Impressed With GEH Revolutionary Approach For Workforce Training
On Friday, September 25, the U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette was in Wilmington, North Carolina visiting the GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy HQ and engaging with local officials.
The Secretary toured the facility and participated in a fireside chat with GEH, discussing the future of energy and what innovation is needed to support the evolution of energy in the country. He also talked about the importance of plants like GE Hitachi’s for the development of towns and communities across America.
Dan had the opportunity to experience how GEH is revolutionizing the nuclear industry by replacing physical replicas with VR Immersive Rooms for workforce training.
Deployed in the VR Enterprise Solution of the Year 2019 “VIROO”, the just patented VR GE Hitachi fuel movement simulator allows multiple users to collaborate in a 1:1 scale simulated nuclear environment. By means of a physical replica of the refuelling mast connected directly to the virtual environment, users are able to carry out fuel movement operations as if they were doing so in reality.
The solution also addresses the ability to be in different strategic hubs around the world interconnected for remote collaboration especially with the threat of border lockdowns in the new reality we now live in. This initiative will improve the capabilities of professionals through intensive training by replicating complex processes and highly skilled activities that require top-level expertise and training, as well as outstanding coordination between the different parties involved.
The fuel movement VR simulator is part of a new generation of simulators that GE Hitachi in alliance with Virtualware will release for operation during the coming years, not only for the Boiling Water Reactor technology but Pressurized Water Reactor and Decommissioning and Dismantlement as well.
“GE Hitachi will be responsible for creating the next generation of training simulators for nuclear processes. Simulators that will allow us to be more competitive in training and coaching our people, and our customers’ workers“
according to Ricardo Moreno, GE Hitachi VP for Europe
The Secretary was impressed with how GEH is creating New Nuclear through innovation, adding new technologies for internal and external customers. This initiative represents big steps towards a new world, the world of immersive technology, in which GE Hitachi will play a leading role by pioneering its application to the nuclear sector