Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 18, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleEDF raises the cost estimate for six nuclear reactors to €72.8 billion, focusing on improved efficiency and construction speed.
By Dominique Patton
PARIS, Dec 18 (Reuters) - France's state-owned utility EDF will cap the cost of building six new nuclear reactors at 72.8 billion euros ($85.29 billion), it said on Thursday, as it pledged to significantly improve both the cost efficiency and speed of their construction.
The new estimate, based on 2020 values, is significantly higher than the 51.7 billion euros when plans for the new reactors were first announced in 2022, and comes as France struggles to rein in its public sector budget deficit, the worst in the euro zone.
The new reactors will have a total production capacity of about 10 gigawatts to partly replace old plants and also secure future energy supplies. France generates about 70% of its electricity from nuclear power.
However, EDF has accumulated heavy debt since the plans were announced, and weak power consumption is also weighing on power prices and its profit.
The new estimate puts costs per reactor much lower than EDF's most recently completed and long delayed Flamanville project, however, which cost 23.7 billion euros.
EDF is aiming to lower its costs by building the reactors in series, bringing costs down by about 30% by the time it completes the last one, Xavier Gruz, executive director in charge of new nuclear projects, told journalists.
Construction is also slated to speed up over time, with EDF looking to achievements in China, currently the reference in nuclear reactor production, and aiming for a construction time of 70 months.
"The gains we will have thanks to replication are significant," said Gruz, pointing to a targeted reduction of almost three years in construction time between the first in the series at Penly and the sixth at Bugey.
The group expects power consumption to "strongly increase" by the time the new reactors are complete, said Gruz, particularly as demand jumps from data centres.
EDF will receive a subsidised loan to cover about 60% of construction costs, with contracts for difference on the power generated used to reimburse the loan.
A final investment decision on the project will be made by the end of 2026, with the first new reactor to be commissioned in 2038.
($1 = 0.8536 euros)
(Reporting by Dominique Patton and Inti Landauro; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten, Louise Heavens and Alison Williams)
A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction, typically for generating electricity or for research purposes.
Cost efficiency refers to the ability to deliver services or products at the lowest possible cost while maintaining quality and performance.
Energy supply refers to the availability and provision of energy resources, such as electricity or fuel, to meet the demands of consumers.
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