500-tonne steel container will hold nuclear fuel
Workers building the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset, southwest England, have installed the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) at Unit 1.
The first of two 13-metre-long RPVs was manoeuvred into place by cranes, jacks and gantries.
The milestone comes less than 12 months after the huge steel containment dome was lifted in place to close the reactor building.
EDF said the RPV is the first to be installed at a British power station since Sizewell B’s in 1991.
Hinkley Point C’s RPV is a 500-tonne steel container that holds nuclear fuel used to make heat to produce steam for the world’s largest turbine.
The RPV arrived at Hinkley Point C in February 2023 and has been in store until the installation, which was completed on the evening of 3 December.
In a precision operation, the RPV was lifted onto rails and inserted through a 19.5-metre-high equipment hatch, before being rotated by the large internal polar crane and lowered onto a support ring with just 40mm clearance on either side. It will be flanked by four 25-metre-high steam generators due to be fitted next year.
The lifting and moving was conducted by Dutch heavy lift specialist Mammoet.
EDF said the RPV has very high technical standards and exacting quality requirements. Throughout the manufacturing process there has been ongoing regulatory oversight from the Office for Nuclear Regulation ensuring that these standards are met.
France’s state-owned EDF is providing two EPR nuclear plants for Hinkley Point C.
The project has been delayed until 2029 at the earliest, with the cost potentially increasing to as much as £46bn at today’s prices and EDF blaming Covid, Brexit and inflation.
When approval was first given in 2016 the cost was estimated at £18bn.
Under EDF’s latest scenario, one of the two planned units could be operational in 2029.
Once Hinkley Point C is complete, it is expected to generate enough electricity to supply some six million homes for 60 years.
The RPV at the Hinkley Point C nuclear site in Somerset, England. Courtesy EDF.
