Hello and welcome to the ACT Pop.
This is the part of the show where we take a conversation
from the main episode and slow things down a bit, unpack some
of the terms and explain how the nuclear industry actually works
behind the scenes. In the episode with Ahmed
Topanar from Bechdel, we talked about something that shows up
constantly in major infrastructure projects but
doesn't always get explained clearly.
That term is EPC. EPC stands for engineering,
procurement, and construction. If you've ever wondered who
actually builds a nuclear power plant, the answer usually
involves an EPC company. Utilities operate plants.
Reactor vendors design reactors. Regulators license them.
But EPC companies are the ones who take the entire system and
physically bring it into reality.
They turn thousands of drawings, analysis, safety systems and
regulatory requirements into concrete, steel, pipes, control
systems, and eventually a working power plant.
So today we're going to break down what an EPC actually means
and more importantly, why these companies are going to matter
enormously over the next two decades as the world tries to
build more nuclear plants Again, First, engineering.
Let's start with the E In EPC, engineering is where the project
becomes technically real. When a reactor vendor develops a
design, whether that's a large reactor or a small modular
reactor, that design still has to be adapted to the specific
site where it will be built. That means engineers have to
answer questions like how does this reactor integrate with the
electrical grid? How will the cooling systems
interact with the local water source?
How do we design structures that can withstand earthquakes,
floods, and extreme weather? How do we route thousands of
pipes, cables, and safety systems through the plant
without interfering with one another?
And in nuclear plants, this gets extremely complex very quickly.
A single nuclear facility can contain 10s of thousands of
components and millions of individual parts.
That means all of the nuclear parts have to meet nuclear
safety standards, inventory requirements, and quality
assurance protocols. That means engineering isn't
just design, it's systems integration.
It's figuring out how mechanical systems, electrical systems,
civil structures, instrumentation, and digital
controls all work together in a way that is safe, testable, and
licensable. And the better the engineering
is upfront, the smoother everything else goes later.
Next, procurement. Now we're on to the PE and EPC.
This is where the project turns from drawings into physical
components. Procurement involves sourcing
the massive list of equipment and materials needed to build
the plant. And for nuclear projects, this
is not like ordering office supplies.
These components can include things like reactor vessels,
steam generators, pumps and valves, control systems,
specialized piping, concrete structures, steel modules, and
electrical equipment, to name a few.
Many of these components require specialized manufacturing,
sometimes years in advance. And because this is nuclear,
every component has to meet extremely strict quality
assurance and traceability standards.
You need to know where a material came from, how it was
fabricated, how it was tested, and how it was transported.
Procurement teams coordinate with manufacturers all over the
world to make sure these parts arrive at the right time, in the
right order, and meet the required specifications.
If procurement slips up, construction can grind to a
halt. So this phase is actually about
supply chain orchestration at an enormous scale.
If we're serious about building the next generation of nuclear
power plants, we need more than concrete and containment dones.
We need people. Engineers, welders, licensing
professionals, project managers, Inc specialists, operators.
The people behind the build. That's where a nuclear talent
scout comes in. We source directly for companies
to find the people who can actually move projects forward.
The ones who understand safety, culture, regulatory rigor, and
how to execute on time and on budget.
If you're ready to step into the next phase of nuclear or you're
hiring for it, head over to nucleartownscout.com because the
future of nuclear energy isn't just designed, it's staffed.
Now back to the show. Finally, construction.
That's where we reached the sea and EPC.
This is the phase most people picture when they think about
building a power plant. Huge cranes, concrete pores,
steel structures rising from the ground.
But nuclear construction is also one of the most precision driven
construction environments in the world.
Components have high tolerances measured in millimeters.
Installation must follow detailed procedures.
Welding inspections and testing are performed under strict
oversight. The sequencing matters a lot.
You can't install certain systems until the structures are
complete. You can't energize electrical
systems until safety verifications are done.
You can't load nuclear fuel until an enormous amount of
checks and regulatory approvals are completed.
Construction is really the culmination of everything that
happened in the engineering and procurement phase.
It's where all of those plans and parts finally come together.
So why does all of this matter? Because over the next two
decades, the world is going to need a lot more energy, which
means a lot more nuclear infrastructure.
Not just reactors, but the entire ecosystem around them.
If countries want clean, reliable electricity, industrial
heat, hydrogen production, and potentially nuclear powered
shipping or remote energy systems, they will need
companies capable of executing extremely complex builds.
That's where EPC companies come in.
They provide the organizational capacity to manage massive
projects that involve thousands of workers, dozens or hundreds
of suppliers, complex regulatory environments, and multi year
construction timelines. They coordinate engineers, craft
workers, manufacturers, project managers, safety teams, and
regulators. And they do it while trying to
keep projects on schedule, on time, on budget.
Historically, nuclear construction slowed down in many
countries over several decades, which means one of the
challenges now is rebuilding the workforce and industrial
capability needed to deliver these projects consistently.
That includes licensing engineers, welders, project
managers, quality assurance specialists.
In other words, building nuclear plants isn't just about reactor
technology, it's about industrial capacity.
There are a few trends that EPC companies are focusing on to
make future builds faster and more predictable. 1 is modular
construction. Instead of building everything
piece by piece at the site, larger components or entire
sections of the plant can be fabricated in factories, then
transported to the construction site.
That allows for higher quality control and potential shorter
construction timelines. Another area is digital
engineering and project management tools.
Modern modelling, simulation, and digital twin technologies
help teams coordinate design, track construction progress, and
identify issues earlier. And finally, there's a big focus
on standardization. If multiple plants use the same
reactor design and construction approach, teams can replicate
successful builds rather than reinventing the process every
single time. This is something countries like
France and South Korea demonstrated in their earlier
waves of nuclear construction, and it's something many
developers are trying to return to as the industry grows again.
So when you hear the term EPC, remember that it represents the
full arc of bringing a nuclear project to life, engineering,
design and integrating the system's procurement, sourcing
the specialized components and construction, assembling the
facilities safely and precisely. It's the bridge between reactor
innovation and actual power plants producing electricity on
the grid. And as the world looks towards
expanding nuclear energy in the future, EBC capability will be
one of the biggest factors determining how quickly and how
successfully those projects can happen.
If you want to hear the full episode with Ahmet Toknar from
Bechdel, check out the main episode where we go deeper into
how these projects are actually managed and what the future of
nuclear construction could look like.
On our next episode, we'll be hearing from a laborer and
welder who actually worked on Vogel Units 3 and 4.
Thank you so much for listening to Naked Iglier.
Until next time, stay curious.