PARIS (Reuters) – EDF announced on Thursday the creation of a subsidiary which will bring together teams of engineers working on nuclear projects in Great Britain, with the particular objective of accelerating the construction of the Hinkley Point C reactors, in the south-west of England, and to make people forget about delays and additional costs.
Called EDF EPR Engineering UK, this new subsidiary has nearly 600 employees spread between the Bristol and Hinkley Point headquarters.
The French energy company is banking on the fact that bringing engineers closer to the nuclear sites, where construction work is to begin, will help make the project smoother.
Hinkley Point C is due to begin production in 2027, ten years behind the initial schedule, and with an estimated cost that has ballooned by several billion euros over time from the initial forecast of around €20 billion. .
While the Flamanville power station also experienced additional delays and additional costs, the project raised questions about EDF’s ability to respect a schedule and a budget.
Ahead of the official announcement, made via a press release, the managing director of the new subsidiary told Reuters that this would help reassure the British and French governments about EDF’s capabilities.
“The two governments asked themselves the legitimate question of whether EDF was capable of operating in both countries,” Catherine Back said in an interview.
“We are positioning ourselves on a path that allows us to follow the new British nuclear program in the best possible way, while reassuring the French camp that we have found a good balance in our resources and can meet our commitments in both countries “, she added.
EDF is also banking on the fact that this new subsidiary will bring its experience and know-how to another British project, Sizewell C, for which a final investment decision from EDF is expected by the end of the year.
In the past, the French group had indicated that Sizewell C would cost 20% less to develop than Hinkley Point C.
(Report by Benjamin Mallet, written by Jean Terzian)
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