Collaboration as a pillar of success achieved

Developments in zero-emission building are rapidly following suit

The fact that the procurement subsidy for zero-emission construction machinery within the SSEB scheme attracted almost twice as many applications in one day as there was money in the pot for this year (€36 million) does make it clear that the equipment sector feels plenty of urgency to innovate. In this article, we list the latest developments.

Van Oord, Caterpillar and Pon signed a memorandum of understanding on May 9 to gather knowledge, gain experience and enable digitalization and innovation together. This collaboration can support the parties in implementing the world's largest "off-grid" zero-emission project with heavy earthmoving equipment. As part of the Mekante Diek consortium, Van Oord is participating in the emission-free dike reinforcement project Tiel-Waardenburg, which involves the deployment of some forty large electric machines. To charge all this equipment, an innovative fast-charging plaza, called Watt-Hub, has been constructed. It is the world's first semi-public charging plaza specially designed for trucks and heavy equipment.

Caterpillar first

On this project, Van Oord will deploy the first CAT 330 LRE Z-line crawler crane. In 2020, Pon Equipment already delivered the country's first electric 20-ton Caterpillar excavator to Van Oord, followed by a second one the following year. Due to the success of those machines, Van Oord decided to purchase four more battery-electric models. The CAT 330 LRE Z-line weighs 35.5 tons and has a net battery capacity of 422 kWh. The machines will be delivered and deployed on the Tiel-Waardenburg project this year. Pieter van Oord, CEO Van Oord: "Ingenious solutions are needed to realize our sustainable ambitions. Van Oord attaches great value to knowledge exchange. Cooperation and innovation are the key words in solving today's world problems."

Van Oord is looking forward to intensifying its relationship with Caterpillar and Pon Equipment and is convinced that "the specialist knowledge and expertise are in place to make this partnership a success." Marc de Groen, CEO at Pon Equipment and Pon Power, adds: "In our continuous pursuit of sustainable solutions, emission reduction has become a necessity. At Pon, we see this partnership as an opportunity to learn and further develop solutions through electrification, use of renewable energy sources and greater energy efficiency. We are proud of the cooperation with Van Oord and Caterpillar to further reduce CO2 emissions, on the way to a better world. In short, a great collaboration between three strong partners."

Innovative approach

Also in Brabant, with Brainport region Eindhoven as a major inspiration, great strides are being made within the energy transition. In Breda, the very first zero-emission and circular demolition project in our country started on Monday, May 15. Commissioned by housing cooperative Alwel, contracting company Van der Zanden from Moergestel is demolishing several buildings in the Stationslaan, including the former Harley-Davidson showroom. All demolition machines, generators and construction vehicles at construction site Harley are electric and operate entirely on battery-powered electric motors. This innovative approach eliminates the need for noisy and fuel-smelling cranes and generators. This not only makes an important contribution to a cleaner environment and a healthier living environment, but also ensures less nuisance for local residents, especially in the heart of Breda.

Among the equipment is a brand new Doosan DX355LC-7 Electric crawler excavator, delivered by Staad Groep of Veghel in late April. In addition, Van der Zanden has commissioned the world's largest mobile battery system through DENS, based at Automotive Campus Helmond. The so-called Powerhub Plateau Container delivers as much as 2.32 MWh of power and can easily be taken on or off with a hooklift system. By investing in this world first from Dutch soil, two companies from Brabant are taking the lead in energy transition. Besides Van der Zanden, Boomrooij Weijtmans from Udenhout has also chosen DENS' Powerhub as a reliable and safe solution for energy storage.     

At both company sites, solar panels are used to generate a surplus of energy, while at project sites there is a shortage of it. By storing the energy directly in the Powerhub, it can be taken away at a later time.

To perfection

Energy storage is an important issue within the industry anyway. After all, without good charging infrastructure, it is a hopeless task to carry out projects completely emission-free. Those who choose to do so must therefore also take into account recharging batteries at night. Preferably at work itself, but - especially near natural areas - there is not always (construction) power available. With the BouwPower, Ahlmann Netherlands now offers a customized solution. This compact power box with 102 kWh gross capacity provides power everywhere in no time. Safe, robust and durable characterize the BouwPower BP100. Every detail has actually been thought through to the last detail, whether in terms of safety or ease of use as well as design. For example, the power box is distinguished by a solid design in which the battery pack and the electrical cabinet are completely waterproof (IP66).

By opting for a pallet frame under the battery pack and on top of a central lifting eye, the 1850 kg box can be easily lifted onto a trailer and transported by pickup truck or van to any desired location. Compared to a diesel generator, the box offers a power supply that is not only more robust, but also significantly more fluid and stable. The BouwPower not only provides energy for recharging electrical machinery or hand tools, but also provides light around the jobsite and offers power for a refrigerator, coffee maker, laptop or phones in the construction shack. It is even possible to equip the BP100 with an inverter and have it powered by 12 or 24 solar panels. Connecting multiple battery boxes in parallel provides enough kWh to recharge even larger machines overnight in one corridor.

Pooling experiences

During a work workshop on April 13, at the ini-tive of Emission-free Network Infrastructure (ENI), more than thirty parties from the infrastructure market came together to pool their experiences in the field of emission-free work. In a unique composition, frontrunners from the market and progressive clients worked hard to find answers to frequently asked questions on the theme of 'tendering emission-free work'. The focus was on answers from the field to questions raised in the sector. ENI wanted to complement, rather than duplicate, the work done by the government (such as the SEB roadmap) and ZE Buyergroup (guide 'Tendering zero-emission construction equipment'). The aim is to guide as many government agencies and clients - as well as market players - as possible in the complex task of building zero-emission."

One question that is very prevalent among contractors is how high the budget needs to be to build emission-free. There is no unequivocal answer to this at the moment. The market is now in a phase of pilots and experiments, so the differences are great. So far it appears that the realization costs for infrastructure works with zero emission equipment increase between roughly 5 and 18%. The percentages are lower for works with partial zero emission equipment. The differences are mainly caused by large variations in the (one-time) costs for the charging infrastructure. There is also a difference in the type of equipment. When using small machines (up to 56 kW) it is possible to work emission-free at comparable costs. Medium and large equipment is not only much more expensive to purchase, but the additional costs for projects are also considerably higher.

Volvo Trucks leads dance 

Whereas the use of electric trucks is often disregarded in tenders for zero-emission construction because of the short time they will be driving around on projects, it appears that following in the footsteps of major logistics service providers, many construction companies are also showing interest in battery-powered heavy trucks. After the first quarter of 2023, Volvo Trucks leads the heavy electric truck market in both Europe and North America. In total, the Swedish brand has sold nearly 5,000 electric trucks in about 40 countries. A logical next step is to make the electric product range available to markets in Asia, Latin America and Africa. In Q1, a total of 600 electric trucks of 16 tons or more were registered in Europe, four times more than in the same period in 2022. Volvo Trucks has the largest market share with 50%. 

Developments in battery technology follow each other in rapid succession, especially within the transport sector. Where the first generation had a range of 200 km, today 300 to 400 km is the norm and there is already cautious speculation about a range of 500 to even 700 km. If it is up to Chinese battery manufacturer CATL - partner of Tesla and Sany, among others - the bar will be raised even higher. This world market leader recently presented the third generation of its cell-to-pack (CTP) battery technology, which, according to the company, offers 1,000 km of range with ease and can be recharged within ten minutes. Those are some values! According to CATL, the new Qilin battery has an unprecedented volume efficiency of 72% and an energy density of up to 255 Wh/kg. The manufacturer speaks of a breakthrough in power (+13%), efficiency and materials.