Framatome to upgrade digital systems at Swiss Leibstadt nuclear facility

"Framatome is honored to once again partner with KKL on this significant I&C modernization project," said Frederic Lelievre, Senior Executive Vice President, Sales, Regional Platforms and Instrumentation and Control Business Unit at Framatome. "This modernization will not only help improve the safety and efficiency of Switzerland's most powerful nuclear plant, but also reinforce our shared commitment with KKL for their extended safe operations at Leibstadt."

The initiative forms part of KKL's broader investment strategy for the site, which marked its 40th anniversary in 2024. Central to the project is the full replacement of safety-related I&C components responsible for managing engineered safety functions. This upgrade aims to boost operational performance, increase plant availability, and streamline maintenance efforts over the long term.

"With this project, we are making an important contribution to continuous modernization for safe, long-term operation until at least 2045," emphasized Roland Schmidiger, Managing Director of Kernkraftwerk Leibstadt AG.

Instrumentation and control systems serve as a nuclear facility's core operational nerve center, delivering essential data to plant operators and facilitating control over critical safety mechanisms. These systems also serve an automatic protective role in emergency scenarios. TELEPERM XS, Framatome's flagship digital I&C solution, is now in use or being deployed across 92 reactors in 17 countries.

The Leibstadt plant supplies power to approximately two million homes daily. Since its commissioning in 1984, KKL has committed roughly euro 1.5 billion toward upgrades and upkeep. An additional euro 1 billion in future investment is planned to maintain secure, cost-effective, and uninterrupted power generation through at least 2045.