- Five-year contract for inspection services valued at over €20 million
- Application of non-destructive testing methods ensures plant integrity
- 80 additional jobs created in England
The second-largest power generator in the world, EDF Energy, has commissioned Bilfinger to carry out inspection services for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, currently under construction in Somerset. Over the course of the next five years, Bilfinger will apply various non-destructive testing methods to monitor the integrity of safety-critical systems at the power plant, which is currently under construction in the southwest of England. The order, with a volume of more than €20 million, will be booked in tranches in the Engineering & Maintenance Europe segment.
“Our work on Hinkley Point C is one of our most important projects. We are proud to once again expand our scope of services with this inspection contract,” says Christina Johansson, Bilfinger’s Interim CEO and CFO. "We are bundling our competences across several units so that we can deliver a comprehensive range of services for our customer EDF. This integrated service offering and our expertise in the technologically demanding field of nuclear power open up significant growth opportunities for us.”
Bilfinger focuses on non-destructive testing (NDT) and advanced non-destructive testing (ANDT) methods for the inspection services at Hinkley Point C. The contract will be getting underway immediately and will create more than 80 new jobs at Bilfinger Salamis UK sites in Somerset, Bristol and Humberside.
Bilfinger was selected by EDF as a strategic supplier (Tier 1) for the Hinkley Point C project and was initially awarded contracts from 2018 for preparatory and design work as well as waste treatment. In 2020, Bilfinger was also awarded numerous services for NSSS (Nuclear Steam Supply System), BNI (Balance of Nuclear Island) and BoP (Balance of Plant). As a result, the order volume generated at Bilfinger for Hinkley Point C had increased to over €450 million.
To be able to provide plant operators with comprehensive inspection services, Bilfinger recently developed the Bilfinger Inspection Concept (BIC). It is based on the industrial services provider's decades of experience in the inspection of plants and brings together a number of different inspection services. Plant operators have access to all the necessary inspections - from prefabrication and routine inspections during operation through to decommissioning and dismantling - from a single source and as part of a fully-integrated package. Bilfinger has the necessary certifications for all relevant inspection activities.
Hinkley Point C is the first new nuclear power plant to be built in the UK in over 25 years. It is expected to provide roughly 6 million households with low-carbon electricity.
Photos: EDF Energy