France backs €100M reactor parts factory

EDF said on April 26 that its subsidiary Arabelle Solutions will build a new factory in Chalon-sur-Saône to make nuclear heat exchangers. (edf.fr) The project carries an investment of nearly €100 million and covers a 20,000-square-meter site in Saône-et-Loire, eastern France. EDF announced it during a visit by Energy Minister Delegate Maud Bregeon and Industry Minister Delegate Sébastien Martin. (edf.fr) The factory will produce moisture separator reheaters and high- and low-pressure feedwater heaters, equipment used in the turbine hall where steam energy is turned into electricity. First manufacturing is scheduled from 2030. (edf.fr) EDF said the plant will have enough annual capacity to supply all of those heat-exchange components for one nuclear power station each year. The company said the site is intended to serve France’s program to build six EPR2 reactors. (edf.fr) (manufacturing.economictimes.indiatimes.com) France has been trying to rebuild domestic nuclear manufacturing capacity as it prepares a new reactor construction cycle after years with no new large reactor series. EDF said the Chalon-sur-Saône plant will help create a French production chain for future EPR2 units. (edf.fr) The company also said Arabelle Solutions will be able to supply and integrate the full machine-room package for nuclear plants, a broader scope than a single component order. That includes the turbine-island equipment outside the reactor vessel itself. (edf.fr) French officials said the project should create about 160 qualified jobs by 2030. AFP, citing the Finance Ministry, reported the announcement ahead of the ministers’ trip to the site. (connaissancedesenergies.org) The Chalon-sur-Saône investment follows another Arabelle Solutions expansion announced in January 2026 at Belfort, where EDF said it would increase industrial capacity tied to turbine and generator equipment. EDF framed the two projects as part of the same nuclear restart plan. (edf.fr) For Chalon-sur-Saône, the timetable is long by design: build now, hire through the decade, and start producing in 2030 for reactors France expects to bring online in the late 2030s. (edf.fr) (manufacturing.economictimes.indiatimes.com)