A high-strength steel reactor pressure vessel is ready for delivery to Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset.
The steel cylinder will contain the nuclear fuel and chain reaction needed to make heat, which produces high-pressure steam to drive turbines at the plant.
It is 13m long and weighs 300t. The vessel will run continuously for 18 months at a time between refuelling.
French firm Framatome built the cylinder, which can withstand five times more pressure than a submarine at normal operating depths. The centre of the reactor will have an average temperature of around 300C.
Meanwhile, Big Carl, the world’s largest crane, lifted the final 11.6-metre prefabricated steel ring into place on Unit One earlier this week. The building now stands 44m tall.
Hinkley Point C will start operating in June 2027 – a year later than originally planned. Estimates put the total cost of the plant at £25bn-£26bn.
