The reactor was shipped from a factory in France to Avonmouth Docks in Bristol and then transported by barge and road
Second nuclear reactor passing houses in Somerset(Image: Hinkley Point C)
The second nuclear reactor has arrived at Somerset’s Hinkley Point C power station. The first arrived at the Bridgwater-based plant in 2023 and is already installed and welded in place on the first reactor building, Unit 1.
The second 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 in Somerset.
The final journey was a six-hour road trip for four miles by a transporter to the construction site in Bridgwater.
EDF, the French-owned energy firm delivering the project, said the arrival of the second reactor pressure vessel was a “major moment”.
The pressure vessel harnesses nuclear fission to make heat and steam for the world’s largest turbines.
Each one will power around three million homes around the clock when the site is operational, according to EDF. The high strength steel cylinder weighs in at 500-tonnes and is 13-metres long.
Hinkley Point C is Britain’s newest nuclear power station and is due to be open by 2031. It is set to provide six million UK homes with zero-carbon electricity when finished, but has been plagued by cost overruns and delays since it received government approval in 2016.
Originally the project was expected to be finished by 2025 at a cost of around £18bn, but current estimates suggest the total price tag could reach nearly £46bn.
The workforce at the Bridgwater project is likely to reach its peak this year, with an estimated 15,000 individuals working on the construction between 2026 and 2028.
In July last year, a huge dome was lifted on to the second nuclear reactor at Hinkley, closing the 44-metre-high reactor building – known as Unit 1 – which is currently being fitted out internally.
US private capital group Apollo Global also confirmed last year it would back Hinkley Point C with a £4.5bn loan. The finance will be provided as unsecured debt to EDF at an interest rate of just under seven per cent.
In October, Hinkley Point C appointed its first station director to lead the project through commissioning and into operation.
