HVO on a large scale
5 July 2021
It might be on a scale that’s beyond most tool hirers and plant hirers, but a piling rig fuelled by hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) , which was demonstrated on an HS2 construction site in London, shows how larger equipment that has traditionally been run on diesel will still be needed, but using cleaner alternatives.
The machine is one of several green innovations that have already been used on sites across the HS2 project, including hybrid and fully electric machinery, battery powered lighting, hydrogen power units as a replacement for diesel power generation, and solar energy systems.
The piling rig initiative was announced during London Climate Action Week, and the engine on the machine is said to be the largest power unit to have been trialled on HVO, by the contractor Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture, through Cementation Skanska.
HS2 has committed to reducing carbon emissions in construction and has challenged all its contractors to reduce emissions by 50% against construction baselines.
The machine will use Green D+, a cleaner form of HVO fuel, to power all site plant and equipment on the site near Euston.
In the three-week trial, HVO is gradually being added to red diesel so that it will eventually be running purely on HVO fuel for two weeks with continuous monitoring.
If there is no loss of power to the rig, or any other damage, the rig will then be designated for use solely with the biofuel.
The findings will be analysed, and a report will be produced by Brighton University. The telematics on the engine will be then monitored for a year after the trial.
HS2 says the fuel is verified by the Renewable Fuels Assurance Scheme (RFAS). This initiative checks claims made by companies supplying renewable fuels for construction, assessing a product’s greenhouse gas emission savings and provenance of raw material feed stocks.
