TechnicAtome and ECA Group team up on submarine electrical systems

French companies TechnicAtome and ECA Group have recently signed a major contract for the production of the submarines’ electrical systems.

The contract was signed as part of France’s 3rd generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) program.

The signing of the contract is the result of competition with various manufacturers which mobilized TechnicAtome’s teams for over a year. ECA Group is one of the specialist manufacturers of TechnicAtome’s panel of equipment suppliers for power electronics.

The new partnership marks the progress of the program in its implementation phase.

“I am delighted with this partnership with ECA Group, which proposed an innovative technological solution for our future on-board power plants on the SNLE 3G. TechnicAtome has forged solid, close links with its equipment suppliers; I am looking forward to this long term partnership with ECA Group,” said Olivier Huet, Deputy Managing Director of TechnicAtome.

“This is the beginning of a long partnership. We will provide power conversion solutions adapted to a demanding and constrained environment. This is an illustration of our expertise and we are fully committed to the success of this program,” commented Dominique Giannoni, CEO of ECA Group.

In addition to the SNLE 3G program, the contract between TechnicAtome and ECA Group is part of a wider collaboration.

ECA Group already equips the Barracuda nuclear attack submarines in service and under construction, as well as the current nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, such as Le Triomphant.

The nuclear plant for the 3G SSBNs, designed as are all the naval nuclear propulsion plants by TechnicAtome, includes significant innovations, the company emphasized.

To remind, the French Navy welcomed a new class of nuclear-powered submarines, the Suffren-class, in June this year. The commissioning ceremony of the first vessel Suffren took place on 3 June.