News

What’s been going on with the [Xcel Energy] Innovation team lately?

Heraclitus once said, “The only constant in life is change.” If he were watching our nuclear industry today, he’d probably put that quote in bold, or maybe underline “change” a few times. Over the past few years the change around us has been rapidly increasing, and one of those change areas is with [Xcel’s] “Innovation” team.

John Miller was engaged to explore the possibility of 3D printing replacement parts for nuclear. Part of that process involves stringent testing requirements to ensure we meet all of the “nuclear” requirements. He was recently asked to test the 3D printing possibilities by Sherco Plant Engineer Kris Anderson. They wanted to design parts for use in the plant to block out coal dust. As you can see from the pictures, the testing was a success.

So successful, the Sherco engineers have requested more!

Like many of our other innovative projects, the collaboration between nuclear and greater Xcel Energy is exciting. Stay tuned to see even more innovation at work.