Regulators pave the way to the construction of the first EPR™ in the UK

AREVA welcomes the decision of the UK’s official nuclear regulators to approve the design of the EPR™ reactor for use in the UK. The AREVA EPR™ reactor is thus the first and only generation III reactor design to have been awarded this certification in the UK. After the Hinkley Point site was recently licensed, the certification of the reactor was the last regulatory step to clear before the EPR™ reactor can be built in the UK. EDF Energy plans to build 2 EPR™ reactors at Hinkley Point and should confirm final investment decision at the earliest possible date.

After a four-year analysis, the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation and the UK Environment Agency announced today that they will issue respectively a Design Acceptance Confirmation and a Statement of Design Acceptability for the EPR™ reactor. The process had been delayed by extra scrutiny as a result of the Fukushima event. The EPR™ reactor passed that extra examination successfully. The EPR™ reactor is now the one and only generation III reactor to be certified in 4 countries (France, Finland, China, UK).

To anticipate the construction of the Hinkley Point EPR™ reactors, AREVA announced yesterday in London that it had already signed memoranda of understanding with 25 UK-based companies for the supply of components and services. In all, 50 UK-based companies are already identified as having the potential capability to meet the scope, which could be worth upto four hundred million pounds to British industry.

AREVA CEO Luc Oursel said: “I am delighted by the UK regulators’ decision to approve the design of our reactor. This is an additional proof of its pre-eminence in terms of safety and performance. AREVA looks forward to supporting the UK nuclear industry together with the UK-based companies. The EPR™ reactor is the only generation III reactor under construction in three countries and now certified in four. It clearly gets ahead of its competitors“.