Emission-free installation of 9 kilometers of sheet piling

Bouwcombinatie Mekante Diek is striving to implement the dyke reinforcement project Tiel-Waardenburg as sustainably as possible. Some 9 kilometers of sheet piling will be installed by Gebr. De Koning over the approximately 19-kilometer-long route. The family business has been investing in electrical equipment for more than ten years, the most recent acquisition being a 100-ton crawler crane electrified by eQuip and Van den Heuvel. This means that Gebr. De Koning can also complete this job emission-free.

"We believe very strongly in battery-electric construction equipment," begins Martijn de Koning, son of one of the founders and with a background in electrical engineering. "I believe you can make a job much more efficient with batteries and electric motors, because a diesel engine just stands around all day, especially in the case of a crane. That's a waste and polluting. Unlike many other companies, who only woke up fairly recently, we have been seriously working on the electrification of our machinery for ten years. It's great to see that it's really starting to take off now. So we have definitely built up a lead in that area, and that bears fruit in projects like this with a sustainable angle."

Triangle

Martijn notes that manufacturers of heavy construction equipment are still slow to commit to electrification. "Unlike in the Netherlands, that demand is simply not there (yet) worldwide. Reason for us to start electrifying existing equipment. And for this we are working closely with two valued partners: eQuip and Van den Heuvel. So too for the electrified 100-ton crawler crane." eQuip, strong in electrifying heavy construction machinery, was responsible for the design and realization of the electric drive system, while Van den Heuvel handled the complete conversion of the machine. The one in question is a few years old Hitachi SCX 1000. Biggest challenge of such a transformation, according to Adis Bajric, co-owner of eQuip, is finding space for all the components. "A fuel tank is a lot more compact than a battery pack. That combined with the existing periphery of the machine where you don't get all the information from, was sometimes quite a 'bit' of puzzling."

Fast charging

eQuip has extensive experience in the electrification of (heavy) construction equipment and has previously electrified several Silent Pilers for Gebr. De Koning as well, including associated customized battery storage systems, in order to press sheet piles vibration-free and emission-free. "For crawler cranes, we have developed a modular system," says Adis. "For the 100-ton machine, we chose a battery pack that corresponds to the former fuel consumption, including some extra margin so that the operator can run for a day. In this case, that amounts to 280 kWh of gross capacity. Charging is via a 22 kW charger that allows up to 32 amps and 400 volts to charge the machine in about 10 hours. Another update will follow at the end of this year to fast charge DC with an average of 150 kW. With that, the battery is full in about an hour and a half and we achieve peaks above 200 kW." The existing machine will then be completely dismantled by Van den Heuvel and fitted with the new components. "Although the 100-ton crawler crane is basically an older machine, because of the significant changes after conversion, the machine must meet the requirements for new construction," says Marc Timmerman, director-owner of Van den Heuvel. "We also build new machines ourselves and are therefore used to applying the regulations."

Nothing else

A nice side benefit of electrifying an existing machine, according to Marc, is that you can also make the necessary modifications. "For example, we fitted the 100-ton crawler crane with a tilting cab." It was not the first conversion project for Van den Heuvel. "We have already electrified several machines with eQuip, and extremely successfully we may conclude," says Marc. "They have been converted in our workshop, extensively tested and so far function without any problems. It's also nice to see that machine operators, who often have a critical attitude at first, never want anything else after a few days running on an electrified machine." 

Waardenburg Castle

Gebr. De Koning is now briskly tackling electrification. "The second crawler crane is currently being converted and the third will be delivered soon, a brand new 80-ton counterbalanced excavator. Furthermore, two more crawler cranes are nominated for conversion to electric and a new electric excavator is on its way." Gebr. De Koning started work on dike reinforcement Tiel-Waardenburg at the end of May this year, each time working with two or three sets at a time. "Pressing is done electrically, vibrating from the beginning of next year. For this we are using our newest 100-ton crawler crane, among other things, but also, for example, our electric Silent Pilers. They run on green electricity from Waardenburg Castle." So far, according to Martijn, the project is going nicely according to schedule.