World’s Largest Crane set to start work at Hinkley Point

Tony Gee designed the foundations for Big Carl's construction at Hinkley Point C

Big Carl, the world’s largest crane is ready to start work at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station site. The crane will be used to lift the heaviest elements for construction of the new nuclear power plant.

Tony Gee worked in collaboration with BYLOR, a Bouygues TP and Laing O’Rourke joint venture to design a 500m long reinforced concrete foundation to support the crane on-site. Most of the reinforcement was prefabricated locally and has been lifted into place on-site to streamline construction.

We adapted our processes to meet BYLOR requirements, including reinforcing and fixing the prefabricated cages directly from the 3D model prepared in-house. This was achieved by understanding the client’s modelling procedure and liaising with the Design for Manufacture and Assembly reinforcement detailing software developers.

The SCG-250 runs along 6km of rail track and will lift 700 pieces, with a maximum weight of 1,600 tonnes during construction of Hinkley Point C.

EDF has put together an infographic showcasing the scale of Big Carl now it has been officially constructed at Hinkley Point

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