HS2 diesel-free milestone
13 May 2022
In what could be the shape of things to come, a site that is part of the HS2 building operation in London has become the project’s first completely diesel-free construction site.
At the Canterbury Road vent shaft site in South Kilburn, HS2’s civils contractor Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture (SCS JV) has introduced a range of diesel-free technologies and greener equipment.
Earlier this year, HS2 Ltd – the company building the railway – announced that the project aims to be net-zero carbon from 2035, with the target of achieving its first diesel-free construction site in 2022, and all of its construction sites being diesel-free by 2029.
HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson said: “This, the first of many diesel-free sites, is another example of how the country’s biggest infrastructure project not only delivers on its commitment to be Net Zero from 2035, but is a pioneer in leading the whole industry to cleaner, greener construction.”
Innovations on the Canterbury Road site include one of the UK’s first 160-tonne emissions-free fully electric crawler cranes; the use of biofuels (HVO) to power plant and machinery; an electric compressor; and access to mains power on a 100% renewable energy tariff.
Other approaches being trialled and introduced on other sites include EcoNet, developed by Sunbelt Rentals, Balfour Beatty and Invisible Systems, which controls and reduces energy output from key appliances, reducing power demand by 30%.
A Clean Air Gas Engine development funded through Innovate UK and led by OakTec, replaces diesel power with ultra-low (bio-LPG) emission engines in Advante Welfare units and stand-alone units, while Cesar Emissions Compliance Verification has been adopted to quickly show the EU Stage engine emission class of all construction plant on site.
In addition, HS2 Ltd states that some sites are benefiting from fully electric renewable energy using solar and wind to power noise and air quality monitors, site security cameras and site briefing areas, and solar pods powering sites by combining solar PV, battery storage and a back-up generator.
Hydrogen technology trials are also being undertaken across sites with both fuel-cell technology and combustible hydrogen systems.
Picture shows an SCS site foreman with a smart meter at the Canterbury Road site.
