A second reactor pressure vessel (RPV) has arrived at the Hinkley Point C construction site in the UK. The first reactor arrived in February 2023, and is already installed and welded in place at unit one of the power station.
The reactor was shipped from the Framatome Saint Marcel factory, in France, to Avonmouth Docks, in Bristol, before being transported by barge to Combwich Wharf on the River Parrett. The final journey was a six-hour road trip by a transporter covering the four miles from Combwich to the construction site.
At the time of the first reactor arrival, Hinkley C was due to start generating power by the middle of 2027, but the timeframe has since slipped. In 2024, EDF announced that the “base case” was for unit 1 to be operational in 2030, with the cost revised from £26bn ($32.8bn) to between £31-34bn in 2015 prices. The two EPR reactors are expected to operate for up to 80 years.
Construction of the first of two 1,630 MWe EPR reactors at Hinkley Point C began in December 2018, with construction of the second beginning a year later. The dome for unit 1 was put in place in December 2023 and for unit 2 in July 2025.
Work on unit one has moved on to the fitting out of pipes, cables, and equipment, while unit two is focussed on the completion of its buildings following a successful dome lift in July 2025.
Because of the innovation and experience gained from constructing unit one, the teams building the second unit are doing so about 20-30% faster, with prefabrication of the construction now approaching 60%.
