MGE UPS SYSTEMS CUSTOMERS INTERVIEW
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EDF
The EDF research centre has chosen an MGE UPS SYSTEMS solution
Michel Duhoux,
electrician and technical supervisor:
“The tests performed every day will not tolerate the slightest voltage variation or break. The network must be continually stable”

Focus on EDF
Created on April 8th 1946 to supply the country with the power needed for its reconstruction, today Electricité de France has a turnover of 186.5 billion francs and a net profit of 4.1 billion francs, with 30 million customers, including 8.5 million abroad.

To guide the company in its technological choices, in 1946, EDF created a Study and Research division (DER). With a budget of 3.2 billion francs, the DER, located on sites in Chatou, Clamart, Saint-Denis and Les Renardières, performs development, technological and scientific monitoring and product research to improve quality and production and transmission conditions.
   
Created in 1964 and covering more than 1000 hectares, Les Renardières site employs 2654 people, including 1600 researchers, divided into 7 specialised departments, organised around three main research themes: improvement of power plant reliability, consideration of environmental issues in the implementation of production means, and the development of applications associated with electricity.
   
Specialised in material sciences, the laboratory’s mission is to study and solve material resistance and cost problems, mainly in the construction of pressurised water plants. By subjecting these materials to real operation, environment and wear restrictions, the EMA enables EDF to achieve much longer operating periods than those usually guaranteed by manufacturers, for extremely strict security and reliability standards.
   
Interview  
Michel Duhoux is responsible for the application of electrical safety rules, in particular, consideration of personnel safety and quality of test supply service in all EMA department laboratories.

He is also responsible for standby supply circuits and hardware, technical alarms, the distribution of gas and de-mineralised water, as well as providing technical support to the safety correspondent, in an environment subject to a number of potential risks.

In this context, Michel Duhoux called on MGE UPS SYTEMS for the security of a highly strategic site for EDF: the EMA department.

“The EMA department has more than 40 laboratories, some of which, like the creep laboratories, are extremely sensitive to electrical interference. Furnace temperature must be continually regulated and variations must not exceed + / - 5 degrees; on the site, these variations are known to 0.1°C.
In this context where certain microscopes cost up to 8 million francs, any current variation can be disastrous” explains Michel Duhoux."

In this highly sensitive environment, Michel Duhoux developed a very elaborate electrical protection system, in which each electrical test supply is individually backed up.
Such protection is not feasible for everyone, but it does prove that “zero breaks” is a technical possibility.

Henri Rogine, sales representative for EDF key accounts, explains that this installation required a tailor-made contract: maintenance every two hours on the clock, local remote-monitoring by JBus board.

The choice of a protection solution is developed at two levels: irreproachable product reliability and an exemplary level of service.
“The tests performed every day will not tolerate the slightest voltage variation or break. The network must be continually stable”, he explains.
With this necessity Michel Duhoux chose Schneider Electric for the electrical switchboards and MGE UPS SYSTEMS for the UPS systems.
French research is highly protected..