Flamanville EPR

In Flamanville, in the Manche department, Bouygues Travaux Publics carried out the earthworks and civil engineering for EDF on the first EPR reactor built in France.

Launched in 2006, the third phase of the project required exceptional resources: 320,000 m³ of rock excavated and 1.4 million tonnes of crushed material used to build the foundations of the future buildings and to produce the sand and gravel used in the concrete for the underground structures.

The site, measuring only 100 metres square and enclosed between the sea, cliffs and two existing reactors, required particularly complex logistical and technical organisation.

The Flamanville EPR stands out in particular for the specific features of its double containment structure: a cylindrical structure 54 metres in diameter and 60 metres high, lined with an internal metal liner and topped with a 240-tonne dome installed by one of the largest cranes in the world. The machine room houses a 1,600 MW turbine.

To meet the most stringent nuclear safety requirements, the building incorporates two innovative features: a corium recovery system, which contains the reactor core in the event of a meltdown, and an aircraft shell capable of withstanding the impact of a commercial aircraft.