Project part of France’s ambitious plans for rollout of new nuclear plants
France’s state-owned energy company EDF has announced an investment of nearly €100m ($117m) for the construction by subsidiary Arabelle Solutions of a new factory for the production of key equipment for an ambitious programme of new nuclear reactor construction.
The factory, in Chalon-sur-Saône, eastern France, will produce the equipment for the planned construction of six EPR2 reactors and eight potential additional EPR2 reactors in France, as well as for new construction programmes internationally.
This investment will be accompanied by approximately 160 local job creations by 2030, EDF said in a statement.
EDF said the plant will produce equipment that optimises heat exchange in the turbine section of a nuclear power plant, where electricity is generated. This includes superheater dryers and high- and low-pressure heaters.
The first equipment is scheduled to be manufactured starting in 2030. The new plant in will have the production capacity to supply all of this equipment for a nuclear power plant each year.
The project is part of Arabelle Solutions’ investment plan for new EPR2 nuclear plants and complements recent investments for the Belfort site in northeastern France, where turbines and generators are designed and made.
“These investments will ensure the equipment for future EPR2 nuclear power plants is supplied via a French production line,” EDF said. “Arabelle Solutions will be able to supply and integrate all the turbine hall equipment for nuclear power plants.”
EDF has already submitted an application for authorisation to build two EPR2 plants at Penly in Normandy. A second pair of EPR plants is being planned for Gravelines, about 170 km northeast of Penly.
EDF said in October that it was planning to submit an application for an environmental permit and begin preparatory work as early as 2027 for a two EPR2s at the Bugey site, in southeastern France.
Bugey would be the third project in a major French plan to deploy new EPR2 units.
France’s president Emmanuel Macron said recently that the world cannot achieve decarbonisation, energy independence, and economic competitiveness without nuclear energy.
France operates 56 commercial reactors units, providing about 70% of the country’s electric generation. The newest unit, the 57th, is Flamanville-3, which was connected to the grid in December 2024 after years of delays and cost overruns. It recently reached full power, but has not yet begun commercial operation.
