Hinkley Point awards comms contract to Warwick tech company

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Nicky Godding

Hinkley Point C, the first nuclear power plant to be built in the UK for 25 years, has awarded a six-year contract to supply its IT infrastruction to Warwick-based telent Technology Services Ltd.

telent was chosen by EDF Energy to provide an IT and communications package at the new site. Once running HPC will generate low carbon electricity for around six million homes.

Under the agreement, telent will design, install and commission the communications and IT system for the new power station. This will include a dual data centre infrastructure and both wireless and wired communications networks to connect approximately 150 buildings. This network infrastructure will support a unified communications and messaging platform. It will also provide a multi-service on-site radio network, including integration with the Emergency Services Network (ESN), CCTV, Public Address and Voice Alarm system, Integrated Command and Communications System and Site-wide TV Distribution.

“This new contract reflects our successful track record in providing critical communications solutions in a range of diverse and sensitive environments,” said Mark Plato, CEO at telent. “At Hinkley Point C we will be able to use our experience and expertise from right across the company and channel it into this immensely sizable, national project.”

telent will work closely with a number of other successful bidders, including those for small power & lighting, fire & hydrogen detection and physical & electronic security, to ensure a seamless overall project delivery.

Hinkley Point C’s Supply Chain Director, Jean-Pierre West, said: “Through our development of new nuclear power stations in the UK, we remain committed to boosting UK industrial capacity at both the regional and national level. I am pleased to have the support of telent in delivering the vital communications and IT infrastructure the new power station will need.”

telent’s history of providing efficient communication systems in heavily regulated environments spans more than 30 years. As an established player in the rail industry, telent’s portfolio covers both over ground and underground networks, with an extensive background in the design, equipment qualification and deployment of technologies to operate within a variety of specialised applications.

“This project is going to provide a major boost to the economy and we expect to create a number of apprenticeships and graduate roles in the Bristol and Somerset areas, adding to our current footprint in the South West through a number of existing contracts” said Plato. “We hope to work with local colleges to provide training for jobs that will not be just short-term opportunities – these will be sustainable jobs that will benefit the local economy and local residents well into the future.”

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.