Hinkley Point C
Products Regen GGBS, concrete, aggregates, cement and asphalt
Client EDF Energy
Project overview
Hinkley Point C (HPC) is the first nuclear power station to be built in the UK for a generation, and is designed to provide low-carbon electricity for around six million homes. Since 2016, Heidelberg Materials have partnered with EDF Energy and project contractors to supply aggregates, cementitious materials, concrete, asphalt and paving services to HPC by road, rail and sea. As Europe’s largest construction project, HPC has required Heidelberg Materials to develop new standards and management systems to deliver the outstanding performance required by a Nuclear Sector Project.
Project description
Heidelberg Materials UK is involved the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, a critical national infrastructure project. For this we have:
- Worked with the client to specify and design the site plant compound to supply concrete with ‘relentless predictability’, a requirement of the quality-focused nuclear culture.
- Employed a dedicated team to manage the project and ensure that every single batch of concrete meets those rigorous standards, without any interruptions.
- Established four site plants, each capable of making 2200m3 per day or 90m3/hr, of ready-mixed concrete without replenishment.
- Delivered over 6.9m tonnes of aggregate, including 1.8m tonnes deliveries by sea to a purpose-built 500m wharf.
- Delivered 431,000 tonnes of Regen, and 215,000 tonnes of cement.
- Completed Europe’s largest ever reinforced concrete-pour of over 9,000m3 in one go on the site’s common raft
UK’s Largest Structural Concrete Pour
In June 2019 Heidelberg Materials supplied the UK’s largest structurally reinforced concrete pour from HPC’s onsite plants; the last in a series of pours by Bylor to create the base for reactor one. 9,000m3 of nuclear concrete was placed over 79 continuous hours, a feat Heidelberg Materials were able to achieve without a single rejected load and all within a slump
flow test range of +/- 20mm.
This consistent quality is conformation of Heidelberg Materials competence in quality management and success in adopting Nuclear Safety Culture (NSC), allowing Heidelberg Materials to deliver the relentless repeatability that is necessary for a nuclear project. The feat was repeated for HPC’s second reactor base in June 2020, with both bases being delivered on or ahead of the schedule set in 2016, and the latter being delivered despite the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
Achieving these milestones at HPC is further proof of Heidelberg Materials' ability as a nuclear heavy building material suppler, and will be key considerations for EDF when making supply arrangements for the upcoming Sizewell.
The Logistics of an HPC Pour Undertaking concrete pours at HPC, such as the reactor base pours, is a complex logistical challenge. To meet the need to continuously supply concrete for several days, Hanson operates a fleet of 12 concrete mixer trucks on continuous rotation.
The largest pours at HPC have consisted of almost 1,000 delivered concrete loads, all of which have been planned to the minute by the on-site logistics team. In addition to concrete, the delivery of all construction materials to site must be meticulously planned to ensure that stocks are plentiful for the duration of the pour.
The successful operation of Heidelberg Materials’ logistic model at HPC has been crucial to minimising the project delays which have occurred on the construction of similar nuclear reactors in Europe.
Key achievements
- 79 hour continuous pour of nuclear concrete without a single rejected load.
- Implemented a bespoke Quality Management System (QMS) for HPC.
- Eliminated 150,000 road movements through rail and sea use. Reduced CO2e emissions by 22,700 tonnes through these solutions.
- Effective collaboration with Bylor, Balfour Beatty, Kier BAM JV, Mendip Rail, Network Rail and others to achieve the project.
- Supplied tailored raw materials and mixes to suit the needs of our customers.
- Positive attention and remarks from local communities, authorities, EDF and the media
For more information about our nuclear construction materials, contact our Major Projects team using the form below.