Vienna, VA, July 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ARES Security Corporation (ARES) is revolutionizing nuclear power plant security by coupling security with operator actions and realism to enhance safety, improve efficiency and reduce operating costs for nuclear power plants and facilities. To support these efforts, ARES is pleased to announce winning a Department of Energy (DOE) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2 grant in the amount of $1.1M.
Currently, nuclear power plant security is primarily separate from nuclear plant operations. Safety and Security systems are evaluated, monitored, exercised, and measured using very different methods for both, yet both are interrelated. Until recently, analytical, quantitative methods were not available for an integrated security risk assessment (SRA), unlike safety which has used probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs) for many years. The ability to incorporate operator actions into quantitative security assessments could provide significant savings to the US Nuclear Fleet and improve overall effectiveness.
As part of the Phase 1 SBIR effort, ARES was the first organization to integrate security using ARES’ commercially-available AVERT® Physical Security Modeling and Simulation software (a SRA tool) with Idaho National Lab’s (INL) EMRALD Dynamic PRA software. The successful Phase 1 project has resulted in a holistic SRA/PRA evaluation tool coupling Safety and Security systems.
The focus of this Phase 2 project is to build upon the work completed in Phase 1. Specifically, the Phase 2 project will:
- Improve the Software Coordination, Data Modeling and Reporting, and Software Efficiency
- Generate Higher Fidelity Security Response Modeling, and
- Establish Congruence with Standard PRA models.
For the Phase 2 project, ARES is pleased to be partnering with Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Three Strand Living, LLC, and Xcel Energy. Each of these organizations are leaders in this field of technology. ARES Security plans to utilize the expertise and technology improvements generated through this Phase 2 SBIR to offer the first readily available commercial software solution for an all-inclusive evaluation of facility safety and security systems. For existing nuclear reactors, this will result in a realistic and optimized security system. For advanced reactors, the interaction of safety and security can be built in during the design phase. In the end, this Phase 2 project will help ARES Security provide organizations with a state-of-the-art tool to better optimize security and safety, resulting in enhanced public safety.
About ARES Security:
ARES Security Corporation is a Vienna, Virginia- based corporation founded in 2012. ARES Security developed the AVERT® physical security lifecycle solution suite of products that is DoD and DoE accredited and that is designated as a DHS SAFETY Act solution. Avert includes software for security Design, Assessment, Tabletop, Virtual Training, Command and Control, Robotic Operations, and real-time Decision Support. AVERT is used by various government and commercial clients in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Asia Pacific to protect the world’s most critical assets, including numerous critical government facilities, various strategic and tactical government assets, including the vast majority of commercial nuclear reactors, and other critical assets of government entities, transit agencies, critical infrastructure sites (such as US Ports), and corporate facilities. In December of 2020, ARES Security acquired certain assets and contracts of Vidsys, Inc. Vidsys, now an ARES Security company, provides mission critical Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) software to Government Agencies, Corporate Enterprises, Transportation Agencies and other Iconic Properties in North America, the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific.
To learn more about ARES Security visit our website at www.aressecuritycorp.com.
To learn more about Vidsys, please visit: www.vidsys.com