Hinkley Point C has named Nicola Fauvel as its first station director with the experienced nuclear engineer will lead the new power station through commissioning and into operation.

Fauvel will return to the Somerset new build project early next year after three years as first plant manager and then station director at neighbouring Hinkley Point B.

She led the team that defueled the station in preparation for handover to the government organisation responsible for decommissioning.

Fauvel, who describes herself as “almost genetically programmed to be an engineer”, has worked in the civil nuclear industry for 26 years. She has held a number of technical, leadership and project manager roles, as well as 13 years as part of the Hinkley Point C project.

Her nuclear career began at Torness power station in Scotland and she has also worked for EDF in Paris on reactor design and at Flamanville in Normandy, where a sister EPR power station is now generating electricity.

She said: “I have loved leading the team at Hinkley Point B as custodians of the site as there is such a proud heritage and real sense of community. I am now excited and humbled to be taking on the challenge of preparing Hinkley Point C for generation. Building the right operational organisation is just as crucial as the fantastic engineering feats being achieved daily by the construction team.”

 Stuart Crooks, Hinkley Point C’s CEO, added: “Nicola’s leadership and experience on operating stations, as well as her previous experience of new nuclear projects, will be invaluable as we accelerate our commissioning phase.

“Taking up the role now enables Nicola to build knowledge and evolve from pre-operations to an operational organisation that will be capable of generating into the next century.”

Hinkley Point C’s twin nuclear reactors will provide reliable zero-carbon electricity for more than six million homes, boosting Britain’s energy security for decades to come.