NEW BUILD | POWERING PORTS
The Flandre Maritime electrical substation in Saint-Georges-sur- l’Aa will be a major power supply point for the port of Dunkirk and will support the increased use of nuclear power Source: RTE
An indication of the likely impact came from
Megan Turner, environment and sustainability manager at the UK’s Port of Dover – just across the Channel from Dunkirk – in a session at LogisticsUK’s ‘Delivering Decarbonisation’ meeting. Turner explained that Dover port currently has a peak use of 7 MW across its estate. But it is anticipating it will need a 160 MW connection, if it is to serve electric vessels using its cruise, cargo and ferry terminals and other electric vehicles using the site. That includes thousands of HGVs passing through, as well as site-based vehicles used by its contractors and logistics operators, who are already beginning to move to electric vehicles. Dover currently hosts two hybrid ferries, but the batteries
are charged by diesel engines because there is currently no opportunity to charge either at Dover or Calais. Turner said that to meet its future demand the port of Dover had considered solutions as diverse as a small modular nuclear reactor, or a link to France. In practice, she thought it would use a variety of local supplies – solar, wind etc – linked via private wire. That distributed supply would also be more resilient, she said. But upgrading the connections that would allow it to hike its input from 7 MW to 160 MW would require network upgrades across the southeast as far as London.
Linking up In France, the Port of Dunkirk has taken steps to address the lack of network capacity, as well as ensuring a power supply from Gravelines. It said that in 2024, the Gravelines nuclear power
plant was France’s leading producer of low-carbon electricity, with output covering the equivalent of 70% of consumption in the Hauts-de- France region. This will be reinforced in the coming years thanks to the extension of the lifespan of the six existing reactors, the
78 | April 2026 |
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optimisation of the facilities and the installation of the two new EPR2 reactors. The French government officially launched the Grand
Chantier EPR2 Gravelines project on 18 June 2025. It followed the National Commission for Public Debate’s acknowledgement on 20 May 2025 of the decision by project owners EDF and RTE to proceed, following public debate, with the project to build a pair of EPR2 reactors at Gravelines. A Major Project Charter between institutional and regional partners now sets out the framework for coordinating this large operation. Dunkirk port expects that at Gravelines “2026 will mark the start of preparatory work”, including implementation of environmental measures and preliminary site development. Meanwhile, the Port of Dunkirk players involved in the
transport and distribution of electricity are investing heavily to restructure the network and serve customers. On 28 April 2025, RTE laid the foundation stone for
the Flandre Maritime electrical substation in Saint- Georges-sur-l’Aa, which is set to become one of the most powerful in France. It will be a major power supply point for the region, with two 400 kV overhead lines serving the eastern part of the port and the Dunkirk conurbation in particular. Partial commissioning is scheduled for July 2026 and full commissioning at the end of 2030. A new substation in the Dunkerque Logistique
Internationale (DLI) zone will be subject to public consultation in 2026. Work could begin in 2028, with commissioning scheduled for 2030. With the necessary infrastructure development
underway and more nuclear power capacity anticipated, the future of Dunkirk port could be driven by nuclear. Should that come to pass the rise of nuclear-powered shipping might be achieved in a rather unexpected way. ■
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