Global certainty for generations to come

3D representation of the EPR™ reactor

AREVA's EPR™ reactor, is the first Generation III+ PWR reactor design currently being built to answer the world's growing demand for clean and reliable electricity generation.
Already under contruction in Finland, France and China, the EPR™ reactor is also being considered by America, United Kingdom, India ... and other countries for the development of their nuclear fleet.

A safe and evolutionnary design

The EPR™ reactor is a 1,650 Mwe pressurized water reactor (PWR). The PWR technology is the most widespread (in late 2005 it represented 56% of operational reactors) and AREVA has mastered it perfectly: the group has built 87 PWR reactors in 11 countries of which 84 are still in operation.

AREVA’s EPR™ design incorporates unbeatable know-how provided by an uninterrupted track record of reactor building activities and backed by decades of feedback experience from operating PWRs, including the most recent.

A leader in state-of-the-art technology

The EPR™ reactor boasts the following evolutions:

  • An axial economizer inside the steam generator allows a higher level of steam pressure and plant efficiency.
  • A heavy neutron reflector surrounding the reactor core lowers uranium consumption.
  • An outer shell covering the reactor building, the spent fuel building and two of the four safeguard buildings provides protection against a large commercial or military aircraft crash.
  • A core catcher allows passive collection and retention of the molten core should the reactor vessel fail in the unlikely event of a core melt.
  • Digital technology and a fully computerized control room with an operator-friendly human-machine interface improve the reactor protection system.

These innovations contribute to the EPR's high level of performance, operational efficiency and economic competitiveness.