Big Carl, the world’s largest crane, has lifted
Hinkley Point C's second nuclear reactor into place before its precision installation inside the reactor building.
Nicknamed Big Carl, the crane is a
Sarens SGC-250 and officially the world’s largest land-based crane at over 250m high in its tallest setup and capable of lifting up to 5,000 tonnes.
Using Big Carl to lift the 500-tonne cylinder was an innovation for Unit 2 and another example of the project finding ways to improve performance between Units 1 and 2. The first reactor was lifted using a large temporary overhead lifting system. The new method saves space, time and money.
Once inside the reactor building, the 13m reactor pressure vessel was lifted and rotated into a vertical position by the large internal polar crane and lowered carefully onto a support ring with just 40mm clearance on either side. The installation comes less than 12 months after the huge steel dome was lifted into place to close the second reactor building.
Unit 2 is being built 20-30% more quickly than Unit 1, thanks to innovation and experience of building an identical design with the same teams.
The Unit 2 reactor building is further ahead than at the same stage for Unit 1, with more equipment installed, as well as more structural steel work and the outer containment layer already in place. For example, three large heat exchangers have been installed in Unit 2, compared with none at the same point on Unit 1. These advantages and innovations will benefit Sizewell C from the start.
The reactor pressure vessel uses nuclear fission to make heat and steam for the world’s largest turbines, the Arabelle.
Together, the two reactors will power 6 million homes around the clock with reliable, low carbon electricity, cutting the country’s reliance on imported fossil fuels.
Simon Parsons, Hinkley Point C’s delivery director, said: “This marks a tremendous achievement by the entire team and one that has taken months of planning and close coordination between the 10 main contractors involved. We’ve also seen strong innovation to achieve not just a ‘cut and paste’ from the first reactor’s installation, but using our experience to save time, money and disruption to the site.
“Importantly, we are also applying those lessons to put Unit 2 well ahead of the first unit’s position at the equivalent stage, with more materials in place and more work achieved.”
The reactor was manufactured at Framatome’s Saint Marcel factory in France before being shipped to the construction site in January this year.