Eiffage Group subsidiary Eiffage Génie Civil has completed the installation of the first two concrete batching plants at the Penly EPR2 nuclear project in Normandy, France.
The company finished installing the UP1 and UP2 units in seven months, aiming to support the construction of the first two EPR2 reactors at the site.
According to Eiffage, once fully expanded to four units, the facility is expected to become the largest concrete production plant in France.
With the site targeting a total production of one million cubic metres of concrete, Eiffage stated that the planned capacity would reach 12m³ of concrete per minute.
The concrete batching operation, supplied by four ARCEN plants equipped with 3m³ mixers, will be supported by storage areas accommodating around 5,000t of cement, 27,000t of aggregates and 70,000 litres of admixtures.
Eiffage Génie Civil is operating the UP1 unit alongside GIE Béton (BSM). The second unit, UP2, is currently undergoing commissioning tests before entering operation.
The wider EPR2 project at Penly involves the civil engineering and construction of two new third-generation nuclear reactors.
The contract, signed between Eiffage Génie Civil and EDF in November 2023, covers work on 69 structures. It includes major elements such as reactor buildings, each 70m high and 50m in diameter, a six-floor operations centre spanning 15,000m², and associated machine rooms and marine works.
Eiffage has indicated that, at its peak, the project will involve up to 4,000 people and generate 1.3 million hours of employment for social integration and jobs for people with disabilities.
The company will also develop training programmes linked to the nuclear industry in collaboration with project stakeholders.
The EPR2 reactors are designed to operate for at least 60 years, with an output of approximately 1.67GWe each, and incorporate design considerations related to climate change.
Last month, Eiffage’s Belgian subsidiary, Smulders, together with Neptun Werft from the Meyer Werft group under the NSORe joint venture, was awarded a second contract by German transmission system operator 50Hertz.
The contract involved building a 2GW offshore converter platform for the LanWin3 grid connection project in the North Sea.
