EDF estimates EPR2 programme cost at EUR72.8 billion

The figure was presented to its board of directors on Thursday. The board approved a EUR2.7 billion budget allocation to the programme for 2026, the company said.

The cost estimate is to be audited in the first three months of 2026 by France's Interministerial Delegation for New Nuclear Technology, which reports to the French president.

France submitted its proposed state aid measures for approval to the European Commission in November - they comprise a subsidised loan to finance at least half of the construction costs; a 40-year Contract for Difference; and risk sharing between the state and EDF.

A Contract for Difference is essentially where there is a future fixed price guaranteed for electricity generated, with the government either paying the difference between the market price and the agreed sale price, or receiving payment if the market price is higher. 

The aim is to be able to take a Final Investment Decision by the end of 2026.

Bernard Fontana, Chairman and CEO of the EDF Group, said: "The establishment of the preliminary cost estimate for the EPR2 programme reflects the commitment of EDF teams, its subsidiaries, and all of our industrial partners to controlling deadlines and costs."

EDF said that "the completion of the EPR2 programme will contribute to France's energy and industrial sovereignty, as well as its energy transition, for decades to come".

In February 2022 President Emmanuel Macron announced that the time was right for a nuclear renaissance in France, saying the operation of all existing reactors should be extended without compromising safety, and unveiling the proposed programme for six new EPR2 reactors, with an option for a further eight EPR2 reactors to follow. The first three pairs of EPR2 reactors are proposed to be built, in order, at the Penly, Gravelines and Bugey nuclear power plant sites. Construction was expected to start in 2027 with commissioning in 2035, but that target date for commissioning the first reactor at Penly is now 2038, with subsequent units following at intervals of up to 18 months.

The cost was originally estimated at EUR51.7 billion (USD56.4 billion), but this was revised to EUR67.4 billion in 2023. The new estimate is at 2020 values.

The EPR2 reactor is a pressurised water reactor project developed by EDF and Framatome. It meets the general safety objectives of the third generation of reactors. Its aim is to incorporate design, construction and commissioning experience feedback from the EPR reactor, as well as operating experience from the nuclear reactors currently in service.