Reactor Vessel Completed for Hinkley Point C's Second Unit: A Major Milestone in Nuclear Power Plant Construction
The Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset, UK, has reached a significant milestone with the completion of the reactor pressure vessel for its second EPR unit. This vessel, measuring 13 meters in length and weighing 500 tonnes, was fabricated by Framatome at its Saint-Marcel plant in Chalon-sur-Saône, eastern France. The vessel will house the reactor core and associated components, including the reactor vessel internals, which support and stabilize the core within the reactor vessel, as well as providing the path for coolant flow and guiding movement of the control rods.
A celebration was held at the Saint-Marcel plant on November 28 to mark the completion of the vessel, attended by a Hinkley Point C delegation. The delegation watched as the reactor was prepared for shipping to Somerset. The reactor pressure vessel for unit 1 was completed at Framatome's Le Creusot facility in Burgundy, central France, in December 2022, and was delivered to the plant construction site in February 2023. It was stored until it was installed within the unit's reactor building in December 2024.
The Hinkley Point C delegation also formally received the first two completed steam generators for unit 2, which will be sent later, in 2026. Steam generators transfer thermal energy from the primary (reactor) cooling system to the secondary (turbine) cooling system, producing the steam to drive the electricity generation turbine. The first of the eight 25-meter-high, 520-tonne steam generators for the two-unit Hinkley Point C plant was delivered to the site in May 2024 and installed in the reactor building of unit 1 in July 2024.
The construction of the first of two 1630 MWe EPR reactors at Hinkley Point C began in December 2018, with construction of unit two beginning a year later. The dome of unit 1 was put in place in December 2023, and the dome was lifted into place on the second unit's containment building last week. EDF announced that the 'base case' for unit 1 is now operational in 2030, with the cost revised from GBP26 billion (USD32.8 billion) to between GBP31-34 billion, in 2015 prices. When complete, the two EPR reactors will produce enough carbon-free electricity for six million homes and are expected to operate for as long as 80 years.
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