The world’s largest crane by size and capacity is set for its first assignment at the Hinkley Point C in 2019.
The SGC-250 (Sarens Giant Crane-250) can lift 5,000 tonnes and operate at a height of 250m and radius of 275m.
A rail network constructed on the Hinkley site means the crane will be able to travel between different key lift locations.
According to Sarens, the Belgian company which produced the crane, it has features and flexibility of a fully-mobile ring crane with winches and cables, hook blocks, and the ability to slew 360 degrees.
The crane can operate on two hook blocks. Its main boom can be extended from 118m to 160m while its jib can be extended to up to 100m.
The SGC-250 also never exceeds ground pressures of 25t/m² due to several wheel bogies on double ring beams and spreader mats.
It is set to be used to move more than 600 pre-fabricated components including the five major parts of each nuclear unit’s steel containment liner and dome.
News of the crane arriving in Hinkley has come after Sarens launched the crane at the port of Ghent in Belgium earlier this month.
The SGC-250 is set to be moved to a lay down yard near Hinkley before being moved to the site.
Its arrival follows one of the world’s largest land-based cranes last year starting work on the Earls Court development in London.
Use of the crane in Earls Court marked the first time it had been used in Europe, having previously been used in the Middle East and Asia.
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