Construction of Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant: reactor pressure vessel in place

Construction of a new nuclear power plant in the United Kingdom has reached another important milestone. Technicians have installed the 500-tonne reactor pressure vessel in the first unit of Hinkley Point C. The two-unit plant, with an installed capacity of 3.2 GW, began construction in 2018 and, according to the latest plans, is not expected to enter commercial operation before 2030.

Energy company EDF Energy announced that construction of the first unit of the British nuclear power plant Hinkley Point C had reached an important milestone. Workers successfully installed the 13-metre-high, 500-tonne steel EPR reactor pressure vessel. EDF Energy says the milestone comes less than a year after they installed the final section of the reactor building.

"Installing the first reactor pressure vessel at Hinkley Point C is a major engineering achievement and a significant step forward. Bringing Hinkley Point C online to produce clean energy for six million homes will be a win for our long-term energy independence as we move towards net zero," said Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.

The pressure vessel was manufactured by French company Framatome and had been waiting at the construction site for installation since last February. Once construction is complete, nuclear fuel will be placed inside the vessel to generate heat for producing steam.

Next year, technicians will begin installing four 25-metre-high steam generators connected to the pressure vessel. The nuclear unit will contain a total of 360 kilometres of piping and 10 thousand kilometres of cables.

Expansion of nuclear power in the United Kingdom

Hinkley Point C is the country’s first nuclear project in more than 30 years. Since 2018, EDF has been building two EPR units here, each with an installed capacity of 1600 MW. According to the latest plans announced in January this year, EDF expects to bring the first unit online in 2030. Construction is expected to cost around 31-34 billion pounds (approx. 900 billion - 1 trillion CZK) in 2015 prices.

"This is an important moment not only for the team at Hinkley Point C, but also for everyone who wants the United Kingdom to secure its energy security, tackle climate change and provide power for our digital future. We are working hard to apply the lessons learned from building the first reactor to improve efficiency in the construction of the second. This experience will also benefit subsequent projects, such as Sizewell C," said Stuart Crooks, managing director of Hinkley Point C.

Construction of further nuclear units is set to continue at pace under the British government’s plans. The country aims to quadruple its nuclear capacity to 24 GW by 2050. The Sizewell C power plant, which will use the same design as Hinkley Point C, currently appears to be the most promising project. Longer-term plans also include the possible construction of small modular reactors.