Data-Fueled Nuclear Programs: How EDF Is Scaling Capital-Intensive Projects with Confidence

Discover how EDF is driving digital transformation in nuclear energy with a data-centric approach powered by NETVIBES on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform

For the first time in decades, EDF, the world’s largest producer of carbon-free electricity, is entering a new era of nuclear energy development. With a robust pipeline of projects including large-scale European Pressurized Reactors (EPRs), mid-sized EPR1200s, and the new NUWARD™ Small Modular Reactor (SMR), EDF is moving from one-off builds to an industrialized model with multiple parallel construction programs.

To manage this scale and complexity, EDF needed more than advanced engineering expertise. To manage this scale and complexity, EDF needed to transform how it uses data across the lifecycle of nuclear programs. The answer? A digital backbone powered by NETVIBES data science solutions on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Scaling Up: From One Reactor to Many

EDF’s nuclear revival began in 2018 with the ambition to not only build more reactors but to do so with speed, safety, and repeatability. After decades of limited new builds, EDF now has:

• 1 operational EPR in France,
• 2 EPRs under construction in the UK,
• 6 EPRs in the design phase in France, and
• More than 8 additional projects planned.

Larger, more complex projects present new hurdles, primarily in requirements management, data engineering, and collaboration within an expanding stakeholder network.

Building a Data-Centric Foundation

To tackle this challenge, EDF launched a digital transformation and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) program built on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Initially focused on engineering processes, the platform is now used by hundreds of users and captures millions of components, systems, and materials involved in EPR design. But creating data wasn’t enough. EDF needed to unlock its value.

Enter NETVIBES: a portfolio of data science solutions that aggregates, analyzes, and contextualizes vast volumes of engineering and operational data. With it, EDF began a pilot program to explore how data perspectives could directly support engineering workflows.

8 Use Cases That Changed the Game

The pilot program included eight targeted use cases, all centered around systems engineering and requirements management, one of the most critical and complex areas in nuclear design. These included:
1. Requirement Analysis: Offering a global, cross-disciplinary view of requirement definitions.
2. Requirement Quality: Ensuring traceability and coverage across the product architecture.
3. Volatility Tracking: Monitoring how requirements develop over time to manage maturity and reduce risk.
4. Component Analysis: Linking components and their related requirements for smarter decision-making.
5. Modification Management: Verifying that changes are correctly implemented and tracked.
6. Interface Analysis: Managing the delicate handoffs between systems to identify misalignments early.

These perspectives equipped engineers to visualize, validate, and act on complex data, with greater speed and precision.

Hybrid Cloud: Pragmatic and Secure

One of EDF’s biggest challenges was data sovereignty. Nuclear programs involve sensitive information, and cloud adoption must respect strict security protocols. EDF’s solution was a hybrid cloud architecture. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform remains on-premise for design and data creation, while NETVIBES indexes that data in the cloud, allowing broader access, real-time insights, and easier upgrades without compromising data control.

This hybrid approach ensures:

• Seamless access for users via a single interface;
• Enforcement of user access rights over visualized data;
• Daily indexing of millions of data points; and
• Uninterrupted end-user workflows.

From Pilot to Production

In the first year, EDF increased its use of data perspectives from eight to ten, and had plans to add fifteen more.
One key success factor? Rather than relying solely on IT or external consultants, EDF’s engineering teams are now trained to build and maintain their own data perspectives, ensuring ownership, speed, and agility.

“We want to empower users with the capacity to execute their daily activities. With NETVIBES, we’ve proven that better design decisions can be made, right from the start.” – Jean-Pierre Mailharrancin, Head of Digital Strategy at EDF

EDF’s story is more than a case study in digital transformation. It’s an interesting example of how data can drive real impact in capital-intensive industries. With a data-powered foundation on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform with NETVIBES, EDF is not only building reactors, it’s creating the future of nuclear energy, smarter and faster.

Watch the full presentation to learn more about Dassault Systèmes’ solutions.