What role did Calder Hall A play in electricity generation and plutonium production?

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Labeled diagram showing the process of a nuclear power plant with a pressurized-water reactor. Water circulates through the reactor core, heats to produce steam in a steam generator, which drives a turbine connected to an electric generator. Steam is then cooled in a condenser using water from a cooling tower, which releases nonradioactive water vapor. Control rods, pumps, and transmission lines are also indicated. — nuclear power Schematic diagram of a nuclear power plant using a pressurized-water reactor.

Calder Hall A, located in the United Kingdom, played a dual role in the mid-1950s by serving both military and civilian energy objectives. In 1956, it made history as the world's first reactor to achieve large-scale commercial electric power production.12

Simultaneously, the facility was utilized to produce plutonium for Britain’s nuclear weapons program. The reactor utilized a design cooled by compressed carbon dioxide gas and fueled by natural uranium metal encased in magnesium-alloy cladding, a configuration that led these systems to be known as Magnox reactors.1