Japanese Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Weir Engineering Services (WES) will design, manufacture and test 34 pressurized water reactor pumps for the U.K.'s Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, according to MHI on Thursday.
The contract, awarded by French EDF Energy's Nuclear New Build (NNB), stipulates that the alliance will supply five pump models, totaling 34 units to Hinkley Point C - the first nuclear power plant built in U.K. in the last 25 years.
MHI will be responsible for the design and manufacture of all pumps, while WES will be in charge of project management, the purchase of motors, pre-installation testing, and delivery of the pump sets.
'We have been working closely with MHI since 2010 in order to provide our customer with the optimal pump solution that combines the engineering strengths of two global firms,' said Mike Mannion, managing director of WES.
'A contract like this is good news not only for the teams at Weir and MHI, but also for both the Japanese and U.K. nuclear engineering industries. Our collaborative partnership draws upon considerable expertise and we are confident that our solution offers superior value and technical input which we can also now offer to other international power companies in the nuclear generation market,' he added.
NNB will build and operate the plant, situated in the U.K.'s Somerset region. The plant will have a capacity of 3,200 megawatts and come online in 2025.
It will power around six million homes over an anticipated lifespan of 60 years, while helping to replace the country's ageing nuclear fleet and decommissioned coal plants.
The plant will also contribute to the country's move to reduce carbon emissions, as the electricity it generates will avoid nine million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year, according to EDF Energy.
By Firdevs Yuksel
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr