The long awaited Flamanville III EPR nuclear reactor in Normandy is finally entering service after 12 years of delays and setbacks, with the process leading to the first nuclear fission chain reaction finally underway at the plant. However, France's EDF energy company said Monday that the flagship facility would have to wait a further three months to see its new reactor supply the national electricity grid.
EDF had announced recently that it had been given the green light from France's ASN nuclear safety authority to start producing the first electrons from the third generation European Pressurised Water Reactor or EPR.
In a video published on X, EDF stated: "The divergence phase has begun. This operation will make the reactor core beat for the first time", specifying that “divergence initiates the nuclear fission chain reaction”.
But "coupling" – the grid connection operations that will enable French households to benefit from the energy of the most powerful 1,600 megawatt reactor – will still have to wait.
In a press release, EDF added: "A programme of tests to reach a power level of 25 percent will be implemented, at which point the EPR will be connected to the national grid for the first time and will produce electricity, a deadline scheduled for late autumn 2024".
According to Régis Clément, deputy director of the French group's nuclear production division: "We are talking about the end of autumn, because we have a fairly substantial programme of tests ahead of us," adding that the plant's nuclear core would be brought up to speed "in successive stages" before it could "show its credentials".
In July, EDF CEO Luc Rémont had announced that divergence – a major stage in the reactor start-up operations – was "imminent".
The reason it did not start until this Monday was because the teams at Flamanville encountered unforeseen circumstances, which led to "a certain number of additional operations" having to be carried out during the summer, according to Clément.
As for full power – previously announced for the end of the year – it will take "several months", Clément added, who declined to give a new date.
Production up sharply from existing plants
Although EDF has obtained the go-ahead from the ASN safety authority to launch operations and take another crucial step forward, this is yet another setback the for the pressurised water reactor project that is already 12 years behind schedule – only the 4th of its kind to be installed worldwide.
At a time when President Emmanuel Macron is calling for a renaissance of France's nuclear industry – by ordering six EPR2 reactors (as well as eight more as an option) from EDF – the start-up of the Flamanville EPR has taken on a highly symbolic dimension.
In addition to the ASN authorisation, some additional good news is coming in from existing nuclear power stations, as EDF has significantly revised upwards its nuclear production estimate for 2024, which is now between 340 and 360 TeraWatt hours (TWh), compared with the initial forecast of 315 to 345 TWh.
"The 56 other reactors are performing better than we had planned," says Clément, so production from “the [Flamanville] EPR will be additional”.
The numerous setbacks that have affected the EPR project – cracks in the concrete slab, anomalies in the steel of the reactor vessel, and welding defects in the containment feedthroughs – have caused the final cost of the Normandy reactor to soar, with EDF now estimating it at over €13 billion, four times the initial estimate of €3.3 billion.
In 2020, the Cour des Comptes – France's national audit office – estimated the cost at €19 billion, including ‘additional financing costs’.
