The ATR Transition to Commercial Power project will ensure that the advanced test reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls fulfills its next-generation mission for nuclear reactor materials and fuels research while complying with stringent emissions regulations.

The U.S. Dept. of Energy lab and INL’s construction manager, Battelle Energy Alliance, collaborated with a European manufacturer, Gutor Electronic of Switzerland, to design, fabricate, test and install a custom-built uninterruptible power supply (UPS) that meets U.S. nuclear-safety and quality-assurance requirements.

The project transitioned the lab’s critical shutdown electrical loads from 50-year-old, diesel-powered generators over to commercial power. Commercial-grade electricity now flows through a nuclear-grade UPS, and uninterrupted power will be supplied to the critical shutdown electrical loads should there be a loss of commercial power. 

At 800 kilovolt-amps, the customized equipment is the largest configuration of UPS systems in the world for a nuclear safety application. It consists of a Gutor Electronic 800-kVA UPS system and 206 nuclear-qualified EnerSys PowerSafe GN batteries. 

ATR Transition to Commercial Power
Idaho Falls, Idaho

Key Players

Owner U.S. Dept. of Energy

CM & lead design Battelle Energy Alliance

Structural and MEP Engineer Battelle Energy Alliance

General Contractor C&H Construction Co.

UPS Supplier Gutor Electronic of Switzerland