EPR (nuclear reactor)

Computer generated view of an EPR power station
Reactor pressure vessel of the EPR

The EPR is a Generation III+ pressurised water reactor design. It has been designed and developed mainly by Framatome (part of Areva between 2001 and 2017) and Électricité de France (EDF) in France, and by Siemens in Germany.[1] In Europe this reactor design was called European Pressurised Reactor, and the internationalised name was Evolutionary Power Reactor, but is now simply named EPR.

The first operational EPR unit was China's Taishan 1, which started commercial operation in December 2018.[2] Taishan 2 started commercial operation in September 2019.[3] European units have been so far plagued with prolonged construction delays and substantial cost overruns. The first EPR unit to start construction, at Olkiluoto in Finland, originally intended to be commissioned in 2009, started commercial operation in 2023, a delay of fourteen years.[4] The second EPR unit to start construction, at Flamanville in France, also suffered a more than decade-long delay in its commissioning (from 2012 to 2024).[5] Two units at Hinkley Point in the United Kingdom received final approval in September 2016; the first unit was expected to begin operating in 2027,[6][7] but was subsequently delayed to around 2030.[8]

EDF has acknowledged severe difficulties in building the EPR design. In September 2015, EDF stated that the design of a "New Model" EPR (later named EPR2) was being worked on and that it would be easier and cheaper to build.[9]

  1. ^ "Status report 78 - The Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR)" (PDF). 4 April 2011.
  2. ^ "First EPR enters commercial operation". World Nuclear News. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  3. ^ "World's second EPR starts operations". World Nuclear News. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Regular electricity production has started at Olkiluoto 3 EPR". TVO. 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  5. ^ Flamanville 3 concrete poured. NEI, 6 December 2007
  6. ^ Rowena Mason; Simon Goodley (15 September 2016). "Hinkley Point C nuclear power station gets government green light". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  7. ^ "Hinkley Point C delayed by a year as cost goes up by £3bn". BBC News. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  8. ^ Alex Lawson (23 January 2024). "Hinkley Point C could be delayed to 2031 and cost up to £35bn, says EDF". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference independent-20150923 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).