The reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for the first nuclear reactor built for a British power station in more than 30-years is complete and ready for delivery to Hinkley Point C in Somerset, southwest England.
The RPV is the high strength steel cylinder that contains the nuclear fuel and the chain reaction needed to make heat. The heat is used to create high pressure steam for the world’s largest turbines. EDF Energy said teams have spent 80,000 engineering hours on its construction.
At 13m long and weighing in at 500 tonnes, each of two RPVs at Hinkley Point C will help power around three million British homes. The plants are designed to run continuously for 18 months at a time between refuelling.
…