Isolation Caps Designed, Manufactured and Delivered for Balfour Beatty at Hinkley Point C

Project Overview

In 2023, THREE60 Energy’s Product & Project Solutions service line (formerly Caley Ocean Systems), successfully completed a significant scope of work for Balfour Beatty at Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station. The project involved delivering six isolation caps and associated components from its purpose-built facility in Glasgow. These isolation caps are a novel design, the first of their kind, which were engineered by THREE60 and are crucial for keeping water out of the cooling tunnels during construction to prevent flooding and ensure the safety of tunnellers.

The project allowed THREE60 to leverage its 50-year track record of providing innovative engineered solutions to solve complex problems. The isolation caps were designed, fabricated, assembled, and tested to meet the highest safety and quality standards. This demonstrated THREE60’s expertise in creating complex machinery that is fit for purpose and can be delivered to the customers’ requirements.

The Technical Solution

The isolation caps are used to allow personnel to work safely in the tunnels. They are installed offshore and, following completion of the tunnel work, can be operated remotely from a vessel to allow the tunnels to be flooded. The failsafe locking mechanisms, that hold the cap secure, are then unlatched and the cap removed. The caps have been designed so that they can be reused in the event of any future maintenance on the tunnels.

A word from our Managing Director, Simon Wain

This project required us to work to the highest possible safety and quality standards, which is something that we’re very used to doing. It allowed us to demonstrate the depth and breadth of our skills in designing, fabricating, assembling, and testing complicated machinery that is fit for purpose and can be delivered to the customers’ requirements. This has been a project that’s required us to draw on expertise from across the THREE60 business and out into the wider group – every single one of those individuals have gone the extra mile and have impressed me and our customer with their skill, capability and their dedication. This project has been a career highlight for me and I am very proud of our team.

The original contract was won and fulfilled by Caley Ocean Systems, who were acquired by THREE60 Energy in October 2023. Caley Ocean Systems now forms part of THREE60’s Product & Project Solutions service line.