Flamanville EPR vessel brought into the reactor building

The operation of the introduction of the EPR reactor’s vessel finished on Friday, January 24 in the night, at the Flamanville 3 site in lower Normandy.

The operation began outside the building on Wednesday January 22 with the hoisting of the vessel, which weighs 425 metric tons and measures nearly 11 meters high by 5.5 meters in diameter. A gantry crane designed specifically to bring heavy components into the reactor building performed the hoisting.

The vessel was then positioned in the reactor pit located in the center of the reactor building. All operations were performed under the oversight of the French nuclear safety authority ASN.

This new milestone marks the ramp-up of installation work in the nuclear island at the Flamanville EPR construction site. In the coming months, AREVA and EDF will start installing the other components of the nuclear steam supply system, i.e. the steam generators and the pressurizer.

The EPR reactor is set to generate its first kilowatt-hours in 2016. With a total output of 1,650 MW, it will supply electricity to a region of 1.5 million people.

Begun in December 2007, construction of the Flamanville EPR brings together every player in the French nuclear industry. More than 2,850 employees are currently working at the Flamanville site.