AREVA : EPR Reactor Vessel Arrives at Flamanville Site

Regulatory News:

AREVA (Paris:AREVA):

The vessel, a major component of the EPR reactor, has been delivered to the EDF Flamanville nuclear power plant construction site (Manche, France) concluding a journey that started at the beginning of September.

This new stage in the project construction marks the ramp-up of operations in the nuclear island and acceleration of electromechanical installation work at the site. The vessel will be installed inside the reactor building over the coming months. Following the dome installation on July 16, the civil engineering work for the Flamanville EPR site is now 95% complete.

After leaving AREVA’s Saint Marcel facility (Saône-et-Loire, France) where it was manufactured, the equipment was shipped by sea to the port of Diélette on the northwestern coast of France before being transported to the nuclear power plant site.

As the main component of the reactor coolant system, the vessel encloses the reactor core. Weighing several hundred tons, this complex piece of equipment required 50,000 hours of design and manufacturing work (welding, machining and assembly).

Upon delivery of the component, Claude Jaouen, senior executive vice president, AREVA Reactors & Services stated: "the arrival of the vessel at the Flamanville EPR reactor site represents a key step forward for this project. This success reinforces AREVA's position in the major nuclear components market."

Antoine Ménager, director of the Flamanville EPR site for EDF stated: "Following the installation of the dome this summer, the activities on the EPR construction site continue to move forward with the arrival of the reactor vessel. The next step will be the installation of the vessel in the reactor building and the start of work for the assembly of the reactor coolant system."

About EDF Group

The EDF group, one of the leaders in the European energy market, is an integrated energy company active in all areas of the business: generation, transmission, distribution, energy supply and trading. The Group is the leading electricity producer in Europe. In France, it has mainly nuclear and hydropower generation facilities where 95.9% of the electricity output is CO₂-free. EDF's transmission and distribution subsidiaries in France operate 1,285,000 km of low and medium voltage overhead and underground electricity lines and around 100,000 km of high and very high voltage networks. The Group is involved in supplying energy and services to approximately 28.6 million customers in France. The Group generated consolidated sales of €72.7 billion in 2012, of which 46.2% outside of France. EDF is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange and is a member of the CAC 40 index.

About AREVA

AREVA supplies high-tech solutions for power generation with less CO₂. Its expertise and unwavering insistence on safety, security, transparency and ethics are setting the standard, and its responsible development is anchored in a process of continuous improvement.
Ranked first in the global nuclear power industry, AREVA’s unique integrated offering to utilities covers every stage of the fuel cycle, nuclear reactor design and construction, and related operating services. The group is also expanding in renewable energies – wind, bioenergy, solar and energy storage – to be one of Europe's leaders in this sector.
With these two major offers, AREVA’s 47,000 employees are helping to supply ever safer, cleaner and more economical energy to the greatest number of people.
www.areva.com