Vallourec subsidiary Valinox Nucléaire has been awarded a contract by French reactor firm Framatome to supply steam generator tubes for the European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) to be installed at the 3,260MW Hinkley Point C power plant in Somerset, UK.

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Image: Illustration of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in UK. Photo: courtesy of EDF Energy.

Under the contract, Valinox Nucléaire will manufacture more than 47,500 tubes for the eight steam generators of the two new reactor units of the EDF’s £16bn ($27bn) nuclear project.

Vallourec management board chairman Philippe Crouzet said: “This contract once again shows Vallourec’s expertise as a key partner in the French nuclear industry and testifies to the solidity of our long-standing collaboration with Framatome.”

The Valinox Nucléaire’s tubes will serve as the only interface between the primary system and the secondary system in pressurized water reactors.

Said to be one of the critical components in a nuclear power plant, the tubes will contribute to the safety of the facility, Vallourec said.

Valinox Nucléaire president Stéphane Jeanneteau said: “These tubes comply with the strictest nuclear safety standards.”

Valinox plans to commence production of tubes in 2018 at its Montbard site Burgundy, France.

Located on the north Somerset coast in the south west of England, the Hinkley Point C will have capacity to produce low-carbon electricity required to power around six million homes.

With an operation life of 60 years, the project is expected to create 25,000 employment opportunities and make a major contribution to the country’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

Scheduled to be commissioned in 2025, the plant is expected to produce approximately 26TWh of electricity annually and contribute 7% of the electricity generated in the UK.

Recently, Framatome has been selected to design, manufacture and supply fuel assemblies made from enriched reprocessed uranium (ERU) to EDF between 2023 and 2032.

Earlier this year, Rolls-Royce has been awarded a contract by EDF Energy to provide heat exchangers for nuclear island systems at Hinkley Point C project.

In addition to heat exchangers, Rolls-Royce will deliver primary, liquid and gaseous waste treatment systems and ultimate diesel generators.