World Demolition Awards shortlist: Explosive

Recognising one of demolition’s most highly specialised disciplines, the category celebrates projects that combine detailed engineering, precision planning and carefully controlled execution to deliver complex explosive demolition safely and successfully.

Congratulations to the following companies and projects shortlisted for the 2026 award (listed in alphabetical order):

AHTNA-TARGET JV (US)

PROJECT: NASA MSFC Facilities 4550 and 4572

CLIENT: NASA

Ahtna-Target JV

The implosion of the Saturn V Dynamic Test Stand and Saturn I Static Test Stand at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, required two independently designed explosive demolitions to be executed simultaneously within an active aerospace facility.

Originally built to withstand the forces generated during rocket testing, the reinforced concrete structures presented significant engineering and planning challenges. The project was further complicated by delays to the demolition programme, changes to the explosives supply chain, and a late stop-work order that required final preparations to be re-sequenced.

Both structures collapsed within their designed footprints without damage to adjacent NASA infrastructure or any reported safety incidents during almost 30,000 worker hours. More than 90% of the 29,700 tonnes of material was recycled, while vibration monitoring confirmed the low-impact nature of the implosions.

PDC EXPLOSIVES ENGINEERING (UK)

PROJECT: Aberthaw B Power Station Chimney

CLIENT: Erith Group

PDC Explosives Engineering

The explosive demolition of the 156 m-tall, 18,000-tonne multiflue chimney at the former Aberthaw B Power Station in South Wales required a bespoke demolition methodology due to site constraints. The chimney stood just 55 m from the adjacent boiler house and close to live substations, making a conventional lean-over felling unsuitable.

PDC instead developed a three-band telescoping technique to achieve a controlled vertical implosion within a compact debris footprint. The chimney, the heaviest ever demolished by the company and the tallest structure felled by explosives in Wales, collapsed within 25 m of its base.

The project was completed without any reported health and safety incidents. All arisings were processed and recycled on site, supporting the redevelopment of the former power station into a green energy park.

PDC EXPLOSIVES ENGINEERING (UK)

PROJECT: Naga Thermal Power Complex Smokestack Demolition

CLIENT: Aboitiz Thermal (with Megabuild 101)

PDC Explosives Engineering

The demolition of the 110 m smokestack at the Naga Thermal Power Complex in Cebu, Philippines, marked only the second use of explosives to fell a chimney in the country. 

Strengthened with four large seismic buttresses, the concrete structure had resisted three previous mechanical demolition attempts. PDC, working with Megabuild 101, designed a demolition sequence that accounted for the chimney’s seismic reinforcement while maintaining stability until detonation. The project was further complicated by a series of strong earthquakes that struck the region during mobilisation.

The chimney collapsed as planned within the prepared exclusion zone, closely matching the predicted collapse sequence. The works were completed without reported safety incidents or damage to surrounding infrastructure, with all materials processed locally following the demolition.

The winner will be announced at the World Demolition Summit in Madrid, Spain.

BOOK now to attend the event which takes place 3–5 November.