- Installation of storage tanks marks beginning of “MEH” phase to fit electrical systems, cables and pipework
- 1,200 new jobs and 300 apprenticeships expected across British supply chain
- Engineering firms in Staffordshire and Lancashire are latest to announce new jobs
- Training in welding and electrical engineering will boost national skills capacity
Staffordshire-based Capula and Exyte Hargreaves from Lancashire are the latest British engineering companies to create new jobs to support the next phase of construction at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. Their 80 new engineering posts are a small part of the expected 1,200 new jobs and 300 apprentices who will become part of the 4,000 strong workforce who will fit electrical systems, cables and pipes at the nuclear power station.
The work is being delivered by an innovative joint venture – the “MEH Alliance” formed by EDF and its major contractors Altrad, Balfour Beatty Bailey, Cavendish Nuclear and Doosan Babcock. (MEH stands for Mechanical, Electrical and HVAC – heating, ventilation and air conditioning). Its new forecast predicts 1,200 new posts and 300 apprenticeships will be created. The fitting of the first five out of 156 storage tanks has marked the beginning of major MEH work on site.
Capula’s new contract to design and build instrument and control cabinets will create 50 new jobs. Bury based Exyte Hargreaves will create 30 new jobs to design manufacture and commission ventilation systems. Their success follows the recent announcement by Warrington-based Bilfinger UK that it is creating 350 British jobs to design and manufacture specialist pipework for Hinkley Point C.
Hinkley Point C will deliver a long-term socio-economic legacy for the UK – helping to overcome critical national skills shortages whilst opening up new, sustainable, career opportunities for people throughout the country. Many of the new workers will be making use of new locally based training facilities such as a welding and electrical centre of excellence.
A new welding centre in Bridgwater is supported by the MEH Alliance, the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), the Weldability SiF Foundation and South West Institute of Technology and Bridgwater & Taunton College. The centre plans to train and qualify 350-500 welders a year, benefitting people and industries across the South-West of England and beyond.
Simon Parsons, Hinkley Point C MEH Programme Director, said: “In this next major chapter for our project, the MEH phase will join together hundreds of small and large companies from across Britain, creating 1,200 new jobs and 300 apprenticeships. Together we are delivering on our promise to build Britain’s industrial capability by creating new jobs and skills. Development of a near identical power station at Sizewell C will bring further opportunities for our extensive and experienced British supply chain.”
The Member of Parliament for Stone, Sir Bill Cash, said: “I’m very pleased to see Stone-based Capula create 50 new local engineering roles. It is great to see how Staffordshire and the wider West Midlands still leads the way for great British high-quality manufacturing for major projects such as nuclear power stations. Nuclear power not only creates jobs and supports the economy across the entire nation but it is also a vital part of meeting the country’s climate targets.”
Full details of Hinkley Point C suppliers and spend across Britain can be found here.
Supporting British Business – Case Studies
Capula
Based in Stone, Staffordshire, industrial control and automation systems specialists Capula will design and manufacture classified Instrumentation and Control (I&C) Marshalling Cabinets to house the electronic circuitry for Hinkley Point C. The cabinets are a first of a kind to be designed and made in the UK and will link the station’s control systems together – playing a vital role in station’s long term operations.
Strengthening its design and manufacturing capability, Capula will create up to 50 new engineering roles and invest further to upgrade existing facilities. This will be supported by a commitment to continued professional development, with the implementation of a rigorous training programme to support the next generation of skilled workers – ready to support major projects across the UK and beyond.
Capula is one of 400 Hinkley Point C suppliers based across the East and West Midlands where £350 million has already been spent as a result of the new nuclear project.
Dave Pickles, Capula Managing Director, said: “Delivering this project will help us to create great new jobs, as well as strengthen our industrial design and manufacturing capability through training and investment in our facilities. As a Staffordshire based business, we see this as an exciting boost to the industrial capacity of our region. Furthermore, we will be working with a number of UK based delivery partners to support the full scope of the project and we will be spreading benefits and opportunities across the wider UK supply chain’.
Exyte Hargreaves
Based in Bury, Lancashire Exyte Hargreaves will deliver the design, manufacturing, assembly and commissioning of the Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems within the conventional areas of Hinkley Point C.
At least a third of the plant and equipment to be supplied will be manufactured in the UK and the new contract award will create 30 new jobs as the business which currently employs 260 people in the UK sets out to recruit for project delivery, off site assembly and site based roles.
Founded in 1872, the 148 year old British engineering business based in the North West has over 50 years’ experience in the nuclear industry and specialises in delivering complex HVAC systems and containment for high integrity projects where clients demand exacting standards.
The project will also provide a number of new roles for apprentices in the South West and new training and development opportunities for apprentices already on the Exyte Hargreaves Engineering Young Talent Scheme. The scheme provides young people with the opportunity to develop their knowledge, skills base and confidence – successfully completing their studies whilst gaining valuable experience working across different areas of the business including manufacturing, quantity surveying, project management and project engineering.
Andy Sneyd, Exyte Hargreaves’ Managing Director said: “We are delighted with the appointment to provide the Conventional Island HVAC systems for the new Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station and continue building our relationship with the project. The new contract will create new jobs and development opportunities for apprentices in the UK.”
Bilfinger
With a UK base in Warrington, Bilfinger recently won two new contracts worth £350m to deliver the design, procurement, supplier management, fabrication and construction of high quality pipework and specialist equipment for Hinkley Point C.
The industrial services company will create 350 new jobs in Britain, including specialist roles in engineering and manufacturing at its UK locations in Warrington, Humberside, Bristol and Somerset. Beginning immediately, the work will be delivered through Bilfinger’s Technologies and Engineering & Maintenance Europe segment with UK bases in Bristol and Warrington whilst some of the manufacturing of specialist pipework will take place at an upgraded factory on Humberside.
Warrington-based Bilfinger UK is one of more than 380 Hinkley Point C suppliers based in the North-West, Yorkshire and Humberside.
Bilfinger CEO Tom Blades said: “The contracts provide stability for our business while preserving and creating jobs for our local workforce. This new work enables us to strengthen our investment in additional fabrication capacities in the UK. The fact that we are awarded these major contracts in such challenging times not only proves our expertise but makes us confident in our business prospects.”
About EDF
EDF is helping Britain achieve Net Zero by leading the transition to a cleaner, low emission electric future and tackling climate change. It is the UK’s largest producer of low-carbon electricity, meeting around one-fifth of the country’s demand and supplying millions of customers with electricity and gas.
It generates low carbon electricity from eight nuclear power stations, more than thirty onshore wind farms and two offshore wind farms, and operates one of Britain’s biggest battery storage units, one gas and one coal power station, EV charge-points, and combined heat and power plants.
EDF and its partner CGN are leading the UK’s nuclear renaissance with the construction of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C, and plans for new power stations at Sizewell C in Suffolk and Bradwell B in Essex. Hinkley Point C will provide low carbon electricity to meet 7% of UK demand. The project is already making a positive impact on the local and national economy as well as boosting skills and education.
EDF also invests in a range of low carbon technologies including renewables, solar and battery storage. The company’s largest offshore wind farm is currently being built in Scotland and the 450 MW Neart na Gaoithe project will be ready in 2023. It is applying research and development expertise to improve the performance of existing generation and developing the potential of new technologies.
EDF is helping its customers, both in business and at home, take their first steps to sustainably powering their lives. Whether it is buying an electric car, generating and storing electricity or selling energy back to the grid, EDF is one of the largest suppliers to British business and a leading supplier of innovative energy solutions that are helping businesses become more energy independent. In addition, the company’s energy services business, Imtech, is one of the largest technical service providers in the UK and Ireland.
EDF is part of EDF Group, the world’s biggest electricity generator. In the UK, the company employs around 13,000 people at locations across England and Scotland
About CGN
CGN is a leading global clean energy company. It has the largest nuclear generating capacity in China, the third largest worldwide, and is a leading developer of new nuclear power globally.
The company has more than 30 years’ experience of safely and effectively developing, constructing and operating nuclear plants. It has 24 units in operation in China, with a total installed generating capacity of 27.14GW, and a further 5 units (5.78GW) under construction.
CGN is also a major investor in renewable energy, and has over 30GW of installed capacity in 15 countries around the world. In the UK the company is investing in and bringing its industrial expertise to Hinkley Point C, Sizewell C and Bradwell B, as well as the project to secure regulatory approval for its HPR1000 reactor design. CGN also has 340MW of wind power in operation in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Source: EDF Energy
