In pictures: Second Hinkley Point C reactor vessel installed

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".

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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.

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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.

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Installation of the reactor vessel allows EDF Energy to install the remaining equipment to complete unit 2's primary circuit.

"This marks a tremendous achievement by the entire team and one that has taken months of planning and close coordination between the 10 main contractors involved," said Simon Parsons, Hinkley Point C's Delivery Director. "We've also seen strong innovation to achieve not just a 'cut and paste' from the first reactor's installation, but using our experience to save time, money and disruption to the site. Importantly, we are also applying those lessons to put unit 2 well ahead of the first unit's position at the equivalent stage, with more materials in place and more work achieved."

_{(Image: EDF Energy)}

Construction of the first of two 1630 MWe EPR reactors at Hinkley Point C began in December 2018, with construction of unit two beginning a year later. Unit 1 of the plant was originally scheduled to start up by the end of 2025, before that was revised to 2027 in May 2022. In January 2024, EDF announced that the "base case" was now for unit 1 being operational in 2030, with the cost revised from GBP26 billion (USD32.8 billion) to between GBP31-34 billion, in 2015 prices. When complete, the two EPR reactors will produce enough carbon-free electricity for six million homes, and are expected to operate for as long as 80 years.

The planned Sizewell C plant will be a similar design to the two-unit plant being built at Hinkley Point C, with the aim of building it more quickly and at lower cost as a result of the experience gained from what is the first new nuclear construction project in the UK for about three decades. Sizewell C's baseline construction cost is 22% lower than the lowest current estimate for Hinkley Point C. A final investment decision for the Sizewell C project was taken in July last year. Construction of the plant is expected to be completed by 2039.