Aggregate starts arriving for £3.8bn Gigafactory

The first load of aggregate for Britishvolt’s Gigafactory has arrived at a materials compound set up at the nearby Port of Blyth.

The first 1,500 tonne load of aggregate, from a quarry in Shap, Cumbria, is part of a total consignment of 316,000 tonnes of stone for the formation of a stable surface to install more than 15,000 foundational piles for the 25-hectare building.

Breedon is now making two train deliveries every day to the port for the next 24 weeks for main contractor ISG.

Once a stockpile of aggregate has accumulated at the Port of Blyth, a major haulage operation will start to get the aggregate to the site, 1.3 miles away. A total of 334 journeys will be made every day, with one lorry load entering site every three minutes over the 24-week period.

ISG construction director Rob Bradley said: “Logistical and timetable constraints ruled out direct deliveries to the site from the existing rail line adjacent to our site boundary, so we sought an alternative solution that would minimise disruption and support the local economy. The Port of Blyth is an ideal materials hub, with the infrastructure and logistical expertise to run this programme-critical operation, and this solution importantly uses skilled operatives that were facing a challenging future as existing haulage contracts were winding down in the area.”

Britishvolt’s head of environmental, social, and corporate governance, Craig Woodburn, added: “Building the UK’s largest Gigafactory is an immense undertaking, but despite the scale, complexity and pace of this ground-breaking scheme, our project team interrogates every decision we take to maximise value for the regional economy here in Cambois, while also reducing the local environmental impact of developing a new site. By selecting primarily rail movements over road transport we reduce local impact and reduce overall carbon emissions associated with getting the material to our site.

“The key milestones that have taken this project from a concept vision to shovel ready project in record time have all been achieved through consent and collaboration with the local community, and we are committed to paying forward this belief and trust in Britishvolt by making the right decisions, not the easy ones, to ensure we create a true legacy transformation for this region for generations to come.”

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