POWERING THE NEXT CENTURY OF CONSTRUCTION

The planet’s supply of petroleum is waning. MITCHELL KELLER reports that construction’s adoption of alternative power technology is set to accelerate as countries reduce their dependence on fossil fuels

THE LIEBHERR L566 H LARGE WHEELED LOADER DEMONSTRATES IN BISCHOFSHOFEN, AUSTRIA

IMAGE: LIEBHERR

A DANFOSS TECHNICIAN WORKS ON AN EDITRON SYSTEM

IMAGE: DANFOSS

With each passing year, it is getting harder to ignore the arithmetic. The world’s supply of crude oil (minus oil sands) sits at approximately 1.7 trillion barrels, and that’s on the high end. Assuming the world consumes an average of 90-million barrels-ofoil daily (and that’s on the low end), the sums come out to just more than a half century of supply remaining.

Fifty-two years, to be exact, is about how long the planet’s known crude oil reserves might last at humans’ current rate-ofconsumption. This means that to power the next century of life on earth, major changes to massive industries will need to accelerate. Construction is doing its part – from machine electrification to hydrogen power to reducing asphalt-production emissions – by finding more ways than one to fuel the future.

A DANFOSS ALL-ELECTRIC WHEELED LOADER IN ACTION.

IMAGE: DANFOSS

GOING ELECTRIC

Electric-powered machines and battery systems are emerging as the most popular alternative power source for the construction industry and a first tool contractors and OEMs use when navigating internal ESG (environmental, social, and governance) initiatives and outward demands.

Still, market penetration of electric machines is less than 1% (of all machines sold in markets where electric variants are available), according to construction consultancy Off-Highway Research. Guessing how quickly the market can grow, too, is difficult: projections for electric construction equipment sales range wildly due to the lack of historic data.

But major players in technology and manufacturing are focusing attention and investing in electric solutions, which may reveal that some of the most substantial companies serving the construction industry see a benefit to electric adoption.

“There’s a need,” Eric Azeroual tells International Construction. He’s vice president of Danfoss’ Editron division, a suite of hybrid and electric powertrain systems available for both offand on-highway machines.

ERIC AZEROUAL, VP OF DANFOSS’ EDITRON DIVISION

Editron includes electric power solutions at the machine level, in sub systems, as converters and can be accompanied by analytic software.

Azeroual notes that countries’ legislative emissions reduction and net-zero goals have pushed the industry to a “point of no return” and – while electric machine sales might appear small – he sees a budding ecosystem in the electrification of the built environment. “You’re going to have more choice on the electric ones than on the conventional ones,” he predicts of smaller machines in some segments one decade from now.

Getting ahead of the trend, Danfoss came up with Editron. It says its hybrid and fullyelectric solutions “consists of energy storage, inverters and electric machines running loads such as wheels [and] hydraulic pumps. Energy storage is usually charged from the grid and used to feed the load, while inverters are used to control the machine running the load.”

Simply put, Editron’s solutions use grid power to feed the load, while inverters are used to control the machine running the load. The company adds, “In fully-electric systems, all the loads are electrically driven. Energy recovery is possible from braking or other deceleration functions.”

USING EXISTING SKILLS AND TECH

Danfoss’ nearly 100-year history includes hydraulic parts production, which was a solid foundation on which the Editron team relied on to develop the product. “We use our knowledge from the hydraulics to develop [a similar] electric part,” Azeroual says, noting in development they worked out electric solutions for engines and motors discretely.

The results, Danfoss says, show Editron system vehicles improve efficiency by 75% and can save operational costs up to 30%. The system can deliver a power range from 30KW to 1,000kW on a variety of products from excavators, wheeled loaders, cranes, and more. Also stepping outside its conventional product line is US-based Briggs & Stratton, a global manufacturer of small engines and engine components, which has a long history developing gas-powered products.

The company says it sees immense opportunity in applying its existing expertise to the electric world and started researching and developing a commercial lithium-ion battery product pre-pandemic.

"YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE MORE CHOICE ON THE ELECTRIC ONES THAN ON THE CONVENTIONAL ONES"

“[We] ended up realising, to do it right we had to do it ourselves,” says Nick Moore, senior director of product management and sales for Briggs & Stratton’s electrification business unit, which includes Vanguard brand batteries.

CEMEX REDUCES EMISSIONS IN FRANCE WITH HOV AND BIOFUELS

CEMEX TRUCKS IN A LINE AT A FACILITY IN THE US

IMAGE: ADOBE STOCK

Part of the company’s Future in Action programme, Cemex says it achieved a 10% reduction in 2023 (compared to 2021) in carbon emissions from French aggregate and concrete transport services.

The company says it relied on route optimisation, lower-carbon fuel alternatives and modern technology to achieve the decrease. A unique solution was also used for aquatic transport.

“In river transport, pushers use hydrogenated vegetable oil instead of diesel,” notes Cemex.

Rail transport solutions include increasing the number of wagons to reduce highway traffic, while Cemex’s motorway trucks were also replaced with biogas or biofuel options.

Through Vanguard, Briggs & Stratton developed a system of lithium-ion fixed and swappable battery packs that can be fitout to existing machine and equipment or developed alongside OEMs.

The 48V batteries and swappable packs can include a range of power options from 1.5kWh to 10kWh. The batteries can be recharged in as little as two hours.

The company says rental was an important segment in developing the swappable packs. “The battery’s advanced lithium-ion chemistry delivers a 1,000-cycle lifespan with no maintenance. This allows rental houses’ equipment to stay out in the field and operators to stay at work.”

The batteries are housed inside a diecast aluminium shell for increased durability, which Moore says sets Vanguard apart from other battery brands.

“We know a thing or two about die casting engines,” says Moore. “I credit the engineering design team [who] know how to do things with diecast aluminium better than anyone else.” Moore told International Construction that he believes the company’s long history in manufacturing gives them a leg up in the battery space; from reduced costs on ordering cells in large quantities to the ability to store and test in-house and its distribution infrastructure.

“Shipping batteries globally is a pain,” Moore acknowledges, noting that Briggs & Stratton’s global distribution network is more capable of taking on the cost and environmental requirements of shipping and receiving fuel cells and battery packs compared to start-ups or smaller firms.

Moore says more adaptability will be needed as the engine makers at Briggs & Stratton finetune their electric offering.

“If someone asks for something unique, we evaluate and say, ‘Could this help others?’” says Moore, noting more innovations will come with consumer adoption. “The more we can build standard packs down our line, the more chance we have inventory [and] the more flexible we can be.”

BALFOUR BEATTY’S HYDROGEN RETROFIT SOLUTION ON A SALT SPREADER

IMAGE: BALFOUR BEATTY

THE BENNINGHOVEN EVO JET WOOD BURNER AT THE ALTOMÜNSTER ASPHALT PLANT IN GERMANY

IMAGE: WIRTGEN GROUP

ICE FOR HYDROGEN MACHINES

AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE TRUCK RUNNING ON HYDROGEN POWER

IMAGE: ADOBE STOCK

The goal for machines using hydrogen appears to be moving toward internal combustion engines as opposed to fuel cells; at least that’s what the expert panel at the Engine Technology Forum (ETF) discussed earlier this year.

One reason a hydrogen ICE concept is favourable to the industry: it’s actually possible. Jim Nebergall, executive director for market strategy at Cummins, speaking from the ETF event, says, “We can be at scale production in the decade because it is conventional technology. We know how to make engines – and you’re going to hear it from multiple companies – we know how to make engines run on this fuel.”

Nebergall adds that familiarity and comparability to diesel systems has made end users more excited about the concept of hydrogen as a fuel for engines as opposed to the fuel cells which were initially more popular throughout hydrogen-energy’s early development.

“It’s the most diesel-like solution that gets the job done, that provides the power, the torque,” he says. “It can operate in the existing environments and existing equipment.” Nebergall adds that storage, weight, and logistics are also weighing heavily on hydrogen-system development. He says Cummins is looking into an 80kg tank, which provides the equivalent range of 500 miles (805km).

According to Dmitri Konson, vice president of global engineering for powertrain technology company Tenneco, hydrogen-fuelled ICEs are key. “We see it as the most pragmatic near-future step toward towards decarbonisation of commercial fleets and off-road machinery,” he says.

HIGH HOPES FOR HYDROGEN

A high hope for the industry’s oil reduction is the use of hydrogen as a power source in construction machinery.

Take UK-based construction contractor Balfour Beatty, which has been working on a prototype hybrid hydrogen fitout solution for heavy construction vehicles. Retrofit to two salt spreaders and one impact protection vehicle (IPV), the hybrid project allows machines to use either diesel-only or hydrogen gas during operation.

Angela Pllu, Balfour Beatty’s environmental sustainability manager, says the initiative was developed in mind for the ‘wider construction industry’ to promote decarbonisation.

“In a nutshell, we’re retrofitting heavy vehicles with a hybrid hydrogen system, aiming to achieve a 30% reduction in carbon emissions,” explains Pllu. “Our spreaders are showing around a 26% carbon reduction during road tests, whilst the IPV is also running with reduced emissions, albeit at a slightly lower rate.”

Dubbed the M77 programme, the company also aligned with several regional partners and authorities to establish Scotland’s first construction hydrogen hub.

Still, Balfour Beatty recognises that a hydrogen solution isn’t the “ultimate” technology for decarbonising the industry, but it says the solution is “effective, fast, and straightforward” and can be implemented today.

“It delivers a substantial reduction in tailpipe carbon emissions,” says the firm, “making it a valuable interim measure as we work towards our carbon-reduction targets.”

Addressing hurdles, Pllu says, “It hasn’t all been plain sailing. The main challenge we encountered is the cost of retrofit and the current limited availability of hydrogen refuellers and hydrogen gas.”

Austria’s Liebherr is working out some of those dilemmas on its own. At its plant in Bischofshofen, the OEM recently unveiled what it says is the world’s first large wheeled loader with a hydrogen engine: the L 566 H. Recognising fuelling gaps, Liebherr committed to building its own filling station, which was developed in partnership with Maximator Hydrogen. Liebherr also partnered with an Austrian food retailer, which produces green hydrogen from renewable energy – via wind, hydroelectric, or solar sources – at its production plant in Völs, Tyrol, Austria. Dr Herbert Pfab, chief technical officer for Liebherr Bischofshofen, says, “To make progress in hydrogen research, we need to have access to hydrogen. We built this filling station to further advance our goals for decarbonising construction machinery.”

He adds that creating infrastructure to fuel hydrogen machines is as important as the engine itself. Having on-site fuelling solutions, may be a feature that sets hydrogen-powered vehicles apart from electric fast-charging. “Hydrogen can be produced on any location where and whenever renewable electric energy is available,” he tells International Construction. “Production and consumption are independent since there are solutions for storage and transport.”

The filling station was inaugurated in Salzburg, Austria, this summer, and the company says more headway in hydrogen is coming in the next decade.

“We expect that hydrogen technology will be seen in commercial vehicles next year. Our planning shows that we can finally sell hydrogen construction equipment close to the end of this decade,” says Pfab.

EMBODYING THE MISSION

In recent years, the industry has increased its own expectations on how it measures carbon emission reductions. The newer term sustainability leaders discuss today is ‘embodied carbon’, which is a more holistic measurement of how much carbon a material or process outputs from development to delivery.

As evaluating and labelling of embodied carbon improve, some firms are meeting the moment with solutions of their own.

Contractor and asphalt mixing plant operator Christian Schweiger, whose operation and road construction company – Altomünster in Aichach, Germany – teamed-up with Wirtgen Group’s Benninghoven to develop ‘Germany’s first’ nearly carbon-free asphalt mixing plant using a wood dust burner.

A HYDROELECTRIC DAM. HYDROELECTRIC POWER WILL BE INTEGRAL TO DEVELOPING CLEAN ENERGY SOURCES SUCH AS HYDROGEN GAS

IMAGE: ADOBE STOCK

Prior to the retrofit project, Schweiger said his plant used about 600,000 litres of heating oil to produce an annual output of 60,000 litres of asphalt, which resulted in emissions of 1,800 tonnes of CO2 . “The existing single-fuel burner (oil) was replaced with a multi-fuel burner that can burn wood dust and heating oil,” Wirtgen Group tells International Construction, noting if wood dust is in short supply or additional energy is needed that “oil serves as a fallback in case wood dust is unavailable, ensuring that asphalt production can always be guaranteed.”

Benninghoven retrofit its EVO JET multifuel burner into the plant’s operations. The EVO JET was modified to accept wood dust as an energy source, including wood pellets and chippings ground to a predefined particle size to ensure efficient heating in the burner. The new fuel solution went live last year, and so far has produced emission reduction and cost savings of around 20%.

One major hurdle navigated by the project, which can serve as a blueprint for future schemes: immense regulatory challenges. “Wood is not a regulated fuel in Germany,” explains Wirtgen Group, which began the project with Altomünster about four years ago. “Regulated fuels are those approved by the authorities that are designed for asphalt production and meet various requirements. “Since wood is not yet a regulated fuel, it required obtaining an individual permit. Additionally, as there was no reference plant in Germany for asphalt production using wood dust as a fuel, the authorities had no comparisons to rely on. Therefore, the process was somewhat lengthy.”

Benninghoven believes this retrofit strategy could be beneficial for the European market on collective CO2 -neutral and oil reduction missions and is installing and commissioning more wood dust burners in Europe.

There’s no shortage of other game-changing power solutions, as well. Nuclear, solar, hydro-electric and wind energy have all seen investment by governments and energy companies globally. All of these, in some capacity, will drive and influence construction and its machines, too.

The construction industry is a unique beast, and fuel used to power other sectors might not be the best for a tower crane or an excavator. For now, the best bet is on electric and battery-powered solutions, but don’t discount other innovations. The world of non-oil-based power is growing and getting safer and more reliable by the minute.

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