Hinkley Point B plant declared free of fuel

Hinkley Point B - comprising two Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGRs) - was first synchronised to the electricity grid in February 1976. The plant generated more than 311 terawatt-hours of electricity before it was permanently shut down in August 2022. Within weeks work started to remove all of the remaining nuclear fuel. The final fuel left the site on 28 November last year.

Defueling of Reactor 4 started in September 2022 and took 24 months. Defueling of Reactor 3 started in August 2024 and was completed in November 2025. Over the past three years, more than 4,900 elements of used fuel have been removed and packaged into specially engineered, transportable fuel flasks which were then transported by rail, by Nuclear Transport Solutions, to Sellafield for safe storage.

"This is a huge moment for the Hinkley Point B team. For our first 46 years, we focused on turning out the megawatts for the nation," said Des Uminski, Station Director. "In 2022, we shifted to turning out the fuel as we emptied our reactors. As of today, our focus is on the full, safe decommissioning of the site. I want to thank the teams here at Hinkley B who removed the fuel in just over three years. We knew this would be a challenge – but as usual our staff have risen to it and delivered brilliantly. We have had many years to prepare for this moment and the change that it means, but it is still a pivotal point in our site history and for our teams."

David Peattie, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group CEO, added: "This has been a real team effort with strong collaboration displayed throughout between EDF and the NDA group. It's a tremendous achievement for everyone involved, in particular the dedicated team at Hinkley Point B, who we look forward to welcoming into our group this year. The successful defueling of the first two AGR stations demonstrates we have the right capability, affirming the government's confidence in us to expand our mission. We're proud to utilise our unique expertise and resources, both to keep the nation safe and support the country's energy security ambitions."

Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) will be responsible for the full decommissioning of the site when it transfers to the NDA in 2026. NRS will decommission the site, which will involve dismantling and demolishing the plant and buildings, as well as site clearance and restoration.

"Congratulations to everyone involved in achieving this milestone," said NRS CEO Rob Fletcher. "We have been working alongside the Hinkley Point B team closely for several years as we move towards site transfer and have seen first-hand the skill and dedication of the teams who have been working towards this milestone. We look forward to continuing our close working relationship with the Hinkley Point B team as we move towards a seamless transfer and into the site's decommissioning journey."

In September 2024, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) received an application from EDF Energy to decommission Hinkley Point B. Following a public consultation and a detailed assessment by ONR specialist inspectors of EDF's environmental statement and Habitats Regulations Assessment, the ONR approved EDF Energy’s plans for decommissioning the plant in late October 2025.

EDF had originally been responsible for total lifetime decommissioning of the UK's seven AGR plants, which comprise Torness and Hunterston B in Scotland, Dungeness B in Kent, Hartlepool in Teesside, Heysham 1 and 2 in Lancashire and Hinkley Point B in Somerset. All these plants are scheduled to reach the end of their operational lives this decade. However, in June 2021, the UK government and EDF agreed improved arrangements to safely and efficiently decommission the AGRs. Under the agreement, EDF will aim to shorten the time it takes to safely remove the fuel from the plants as they come offline, before working closely with the NDA to transfer ownership of the stations to the NDA.

In April last year, Hunterston B became the first AGR power plant to be declared free of all used nuclear fuel ahead of decommissioning and will be the first AGR station to transfer to the NDA group, followed by Hinkley Point B later this year.