La construction des 2 EPR de Hinkley Point (UK)

[energy_isere]

In pictures: Second Hinkley Point C reactor vessel installed

Monday, 1 June 2026

The reactor pressure vessel has been installed for the second of the two EPR reactors at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant under construction in Somerset, England.

Following a two-day lifting and installation operation that began on Thursday morning, the reactor vessel was installed in position within unit 2's reactor building on Friday afternoon.

Unlike the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for the first unit - which was lifted using a large temporary overhead lifting system - the 500-tonne vessel for the second unit was lifted into place using Big Carl, the world's largest crane, before being inserted through a 19.5-metre-high equipment hatch for its precision installation inside the reactor building. EDF Energy said the new method saved space, time and money, and is "another example of the project finding ways to improve performance between units 1 and 2".

Once inside the reactor building, the 13-metre-long vessel was lifted and rotated into a vertical position by the large internal polar crane and lowered carefully onto a support ring with just 40 mm clearance on either side.

The RPV for unit 2 was fabricated by Framatome at its Saint-Marcel plant in Chalon-sur-Saône, eastern France. Framatome announced the completion of the component in late November last year and it was delivered to the Hinkley Point C site in January this year. The vessel for unit 1 was completed at Framatome's Le Creusot facility in Burgundy, central France, in December 2022. It was delivered to the plant construction site in February 2023 and was kept in storage until it was installed within the unit's reactor building in December 2024.

EDF Energy noted that unit 2 of the plant is being built 20-30% more quickly than unit 1, thanks to innovation and experience of building an identical design with the same teams. "The unit 2 reactor building is further ahead than at the same stage for unit 1, with more equipment installed, as well as more structural steel work and the outer containment layer already in place," the company said. "These advantages and innovations will benefit Sizewell C from the start."

The high-strength steel RPV will house the reactor core and all associated components, including the reactor vessel internals which support and stabilise the core within the reactor vessel, as well as providing the path for coolant flow and guiding movement of the control rods.



Installation of the reactor vessel allows EDF Energy to install the remaining equipment to complete unit 2's primary circuit.
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https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/arti ... -installed