Name of the Project
Flamanville 3 European pressurised reactor (EPR) project.

Location
France.

Client
Électricité de France (EDF).

Project Description
The Flamanville EPR is the first nuclear power station to be built in France in the past 15 years and the first third-generation-type plant.

The nuclear plant will have a net electricity output of 1 650 MWe.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Value
EDF announced this month that it has revised the cost of the project from €8-billion to €10.5-billion.

Duration
Work began at the site in December 2007. First fuel loading and start-up of the reactor has been revised from 2017 to the fourth quarter of 2018, a year later than initially announced.

Latest Developments
During the initial comprehensive inspection in March this year – a regulatory requirement prior to the plant startup – quality deviations were detected on the welding of the pipes of the main secondary system of the Flamanville EPR.

This inspection consists of the examination of the welds of the primary and secondary systems, and allows for an initial reference state of the plant to be established before its entry into operation.

Following the detection of quality deviations, EDF decided to conduct additional controls on the 150 welds in question on the main secondary system, to identify exactly which ones were subject to quality deviations.

EDF has also ordered a report into the causes and nature of these deviations to define the necessary corrective actions and the industrial methods to be proposed to the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN) to guarantee the expected safety requirements. The full set of checks and the report will be completed by the end of May.

On April 10, 2018, EDF notified the ASN of a significant event pertaining to the detection of deviations in the performance checks of these welds. Part of the main secondary system is already subject to a deviation, with respect to the correct application of ‘high-quality’ requirements, of which the ASN was notified in February this year.

Following the current checks and the licensing process by the ASN, EDF will be able to specify whether the project requires an adjustment to its timetable and its costs.

The loading of the nuclear fuel is currently due to take place at the end of the fourth quarter of this year.

EDF’s teams and their industrial partners are fully mobilised and are pursuing the other assembly operations and tests at the Flamanville EPR, particularly the global checks. On April 3 this year, the reactor building underwent pressure tests, a process known as the container test, which were completed satisfactorily and, thus, allowed for the validation of the building’s design and resistance.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Areva (nuclear steam supply system), Bouygues (civil work) and Alstom (turbine island).

On Budget and on Time?
Start-up of the project has been revised from 2017 to 2018 and the cost of the project has escalated from €8-billion to €10.5-billion.

Contact Details for Project Information
EDF, tel +33 1 40 42 46 37 or email service-de-presse@edf.fr.