Second reactor lifted at Hinkley Point C: constructability lessons for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Sarens’ SGC-250 “Big Carl” land crane, rated at 250,000 tonne-metres, has lifted the 13-metre-long reactor pressure vessel for Hinkley Point C Unit 2 into the reactor building, where the internal polar crane rotated it vertical and set it onto a support ring with just 40mm lateral clearance. Unit 2 construction is reported to be 20–30% faster than Unit 1, with the outer containment, additional structural steelwork and three large heat exchangers already installed at this stage. EDF plans to transfer these build efficiencies directly to the Sizewell C gigawatt-scale project.
Technical Brief
- Sarens’ SGC-250 deployment for Unit 2 replaces the temporary overhead lifting system used on Unit 1.
- The second reactor installation followed less than 12 months after lifting the Unit 2 steel dome.
- EDF reports Unit 2 is progressing 20–30% faster than Unit 1 using the same design and teams.
- At the equivalent programme stage, Unit 2 already has its outer containment layer completed.
- Additional structural steelwork is more advanced in Unit 2 than it was for Unit 1 at this point.
- Three large heat exchangers are already installed in Unit 2, versus none at the same milestone on Unit 1.
Our Take
EDF’s decision to replicate the Hinkley Point C design at Sizewell C, referenced in the recent AtkinsRéalis framework award, means the 20–30% construction speed gains seen on Unit 2 are likely to be treated as a benchmark for schedule optimisation on the Suffolk project.
Sarens’ heavy-lift role at Hinkley Point C sits within a competitive UK crane market where Mammoet is bringing in a 2,500‑tonne LR12500‑1.0 crawler; this signals that future nuclear and large energy schemes in the United Kingdom will have multiple Tier‑1 heavy-lift options for complex reactor and dome placements.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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