IFA2 Project, Fareham

Iso Floor for the Infrastructure Project - IFA2

EDP Europe (EDPE) and Critical Facilities Solutions (CFS) were appointed primary contractor to install 400 m² of specialised Bergvik Iso Floor system into several Power & Plant areas for the National Grid on behalf of Morgan Sindall Infrastructure and ABB.

The Project - Overview

This is a major new energy infrastructure project, known as Interconnexion France-Angleterre 2 (IFA2), linking the United Kingdom’s electricity transmission network to France. The link will help enhance the security, affordability, and sustainability of energy supply to both countries. IFA2 will be an electricity interconnector, this is a connection between the electricity transmission systems of different countries. The Interconnector will be capable of exchanging 1,000 Mega Watts of power between Britain and France, enough to run over 1,000,000 homes.

The System

The Bergvik Iso floor system is dynamic with a unique design that allows for easy adaptation to ever-changing technologies; equipment densities; equipment footprint, and increased cooling demands. The Iso floor system has up to 70% fewer pedestals compared to conventional 600 x 600 mm grid floors.

The Installation

The installation started in early February 2020 with a tight timescale that left little room for error. The flexibility of the Bergvik Iso Floor system enabled the EDPE & CFS team to work successfully with Morgan Sindall and ABB on the floor frame installation which was easily adapted to facilitate the complex underfloor containment install. In addition to the Iso sub-floor frame, 80 specialised mounting frames were built and installed onto the sub-floor frame for High Voltage equipment to be sited. The floor was finished off with bespoke sized Bergvik laminate floor panels. The installation was completed on time and to budget with all major installation milestones achieved.

Bergvik Features & Benefits

Some of the major features and cost saving benefits of the Bergvik Iso Floor systems include:

• All heavy equipment is supported directly by the rigid and self-supporting sub-structure. There is no need for any costly equipment stands usually required to support switched gear, UPS’s, Batteries, CRAH’s units, PDU’s or other heavy equipment.
• No additional bridging is required due to the flexible pedestal placement.
• Only two grounding points are required to provide a high potential to the main ground bar per room.
• Multi-size panel offerings provide an optimised equipment layout with full access to the under-floor plenum.
• The floor can be installed in two phases due to self-supporting steel sub-structure meaning all the panels can be installed at a later stage if required.
• Floor heights available from 300-2100 mm.
• All floor components are guaranteed zinc whisker free, preventing any future risks.

This is Morgan Sindall

Morgan Sindall Group plc is a leading UK construction and regeneration group, employing around 6,700 people and operating in the public, regulated and private sectors. It reports through six divisions of Construction & Infrastructure, Fit Out, Property Services, Partnership Housing, Urban Regeneration, and Investments.

This is ABB

ABB (ASEA Brown Boveri) is a Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, operating mainly in robotics, power, heavy electrical equipment, and automation technology areas. ABB in the UK is headquartered in Warrington, Cheshire and employs 1800 people operating from around 15 locations nationwide. ABB have a long track record of innovation. Many of the technologies that underlie our modern society, from robot automation to a revolutionary approach to ship propulsion, were developed or commercialized by ABB.