Over 20,000m3 of nuclear-grade concrete was poured using concrete pumps
The final concrete pour for Unit 2 continued around the clock
Final section of the 20,693m3 of concrete being poured into the foundation of Unit 2’s Nuclear Island
Workers building the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station have completed the 49,000-tonne base for the station’s second reactor. The pour was completed on schedule – meeting a target date set more than four years ago. The final concrete pour of 8,991m3 set a new UK record for a single, continuous pour. It surpasses by 37m3 the previous record during construction of the base for Hinkley Point C’s first unit in June 2019.This major milestone in nuclear construction was completed by teams that have had to adapt to new Coronavirus working conditions. Their achievement, known as “J-zero”, comes less than a year after the completion of the first reactor’s base in June 2019. It is the second major goal in 2020 and the successful completion of both follows the achievement of all the project goals in 2019. The date for achieving J-zero on Unit 2 was set more than four years, before the final investment decision was taken.Construction during the current Coronavirus crisis was able to continue after the project took a wide range of steps to ensure the safety of workers and the community. This included reducing numbers on site to enable social distancing and concentrating on the most critical areas of construction.