Esterline Corporation, a US specialty manufacturer serving global aerospace and defence markets, on 1 November announced that it had signed an agreement with BYLOR (a joint venture between Bouygues TP and Laing O’Rourke) to supply the UK Hinkley Point C NPP with several large stainless steel pond/pool liners, in-containment reactor water storage tanks, and other tanks, vessels and ancillary equipment used throughout the life of the power station. The contract is expected to exceed GBP90 million ($116 million) for Esterline over six and a half years. The work is expected to begin later this year.
A joint venture partnership between Esterline and Efinor (EDEL) was selected for the project because of EDEL’s combined expertise in similar nuclear pool liner projects, particularly in the UK and France. Esterline offers a prefabricated modular solution with its Darchem engineered materials that reduces installation time and ensures programme security by performing a majority of the fabrication in the factory, according to its press release.
Esterline’s Darchem products have been serving the nuclear industry for more than 50 years in the design, manufacture and installation of specialized thermal insulation to nuclear steam supply systems. In addition, Esterline provides a wide range of other engineered materials for the nuclear industry including waste containers, nuclear vent ducting and a passive fire protection system that is approved for use on both US and European nuclear plants. Darchem products can be found in over 180 nuclear plants in 20 countries.
