Investors line up for Sizewell C
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As the U.K. government looks to finalize investment decisions for the construction of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant this summer, France’s state-owned EDF has announced plans to take a 12.5 percent stake in the project and commit up to £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion) in funding.
The funds are yet to be officially committed, with EDF saying the “investment would be made at the time of the final investment decision by the project once the negotiation of agreements with the U.K. government and investors is finalized.”
Other investors: The U.K. government, which in June announced a $19.2 billion investment in the project, will be the primary stakeholder and investor in Sizewell C. Speaking on EDF’s announcement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “I’ve been clear there will be no more dithering and delay on Sizewell C—and this investment takes us a step closer to the benefits it will bring to the British people.”
Sizewell C was originally to be financed by EDF and China General Nuclear Power Corporation. However, with the exiting of CGN from the deal in 2022 over security concerns from the U.K. and EDF reducing its total stake from roughly 16 percent to 12.5 percent with this new announcement, there remains funding needs for the project that are currently unmet.
One investor looking to fill that gap is Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management, which, according to the Financial Times, is “likely to take a 25% stake,” making it the largest private investor in the project.
Another is the British energy company Centrica, which, in partnership with Cameco, acquired Westinghouse in 2022. It may take a 15 percent stake in the project, though neither of these claims have been confirmed by the companies involved.
Sizewell details: Plans for Sizewell C mirror the currently under-construction Hinkley Point C station, which will host twin 1,600-MWe EPRs. The construction formally began in January 2024.
On July 8, Sizewell C announced that it awarded a significant contract for “over 120,000 m3 of concrete for the enabling and early works” at the plant, a good sign that progress is being made. Most projections have the plant becoming operational in the 2030s.
The Sizewell site contains two other reactors: Sizewell B, a 1,198-MWe pressurized water reactor that began operations in 1995; and Sizewell A, a 290-MWe Magnox gas-cooled reactor that was permanently closed in 2006.
EDF shakeups: This news also comes as EDF announced significant changes to its governance in the form of seven new appointees to its board of directors. On July 8, the utility said that the changes were made to facilitate the “major role in France’s nuclear revival” that EDF will play through the EPR2 program, which includes plans to build six new nuclear reactors across the country.
Four of the seven board appointees were already heavily involved in EDF’s various nuclear projects, reflecting the heavy emphasis the group will place on nuclear development in the coming years.
EDF also said that funding the Sizewell C project will be an asset domestically, enabling the French nuclear industry “to develop its skills and benefit from series effect and feedback experience with the EPR2 program.”
France-U.K. relations: EDF’s announcement coincided with a state visit to the U.K. from French President Emmauel Macron. This trip is the first official visit to the U.K. by a French president since 2008—and it is the first official visit by any EU leader since 2020.
Many hope the visit represents a new era of positive relations and collaboration between the two countries in the nuclear space and beyond. U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband called it the start to “a golden age of new nuclear” and went on to say, “This agreement is a landmark moment in the U.K. and France’s long-standing partnership in civil nuclear, and a testament to our countries’ strong relationship.”
