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Media release

Sustainable construction sites – TECO 2030 and Implenia receive public funding for developing zero-emission construction site solutions

Norwegian cleantech company TECO 2030 and Implenia Norway have been granted funding by Norwegian state enterprise Enova to jointly develop and pilot hydrogen-powered solutions that will eliminate emissions at construction sites. This is in line with Implenia’s ambitious sustainability goals.

Dietlikon, 6 July 2021 –TECO 2030, a Norwegian company that develops hydrogen fuel cells for ships and other heavy machinery, and Implenia Norway announced earlier this year that they will jointly develop and pilot hydrogen-powered construction solutions. The cooperation covers a period of five years and includes three initial steps, including project financing, product development and commercialisation as well as operations.

Hydrogen-powered construction solutions
As part of the project, TECO 2030 will develop a fuel cell generator with a power production capacity of 0.8 MW, which can replace diesel generators on construction sites. The delivery of the fuel cell generator is planned for January 2023. Implenia Norway will support TECO 2030 with its construction experience and knowledge and will pilot the fuel cell generator on its construction sites.

Hydrogen fuel cells are the engines of tomorrow and convert hydrogen into electricity while emitting nothing but water vapour and warm air. By switching to hydrogen fuel cells, applications that currently get their energy from diesel engines or diesel generators can use climate-friendly hydrogen instead of fossil fuels and become completely emissions-free. Furthermore, hydrogen fuel cells do not require a grid connection and will be just as mobile and flexible as a traditional diesel generator.

Sustainable innovation
The support granted by Enova amounts to NOK 15.6 million and will be provided over a period of 2.5 years, from September 2021 until end of December 2023. The Norwegian government recently announced a new strategy to increase its efforts to cut emissions from the transportation sector and construction sites and has introduced the ambitious target that these should both be fossil-free by 2025. The strategy entails a plan to engage in pilot projects.

“The construction of roads, tunnels, bridges and other infrastructure has until now largely relied on diesel as an energy source. By using hydrogen-based fuel cells instead of diesel generators, construction sites can eliminate their emissions and become more climate friendly,” says Tore Enger, CEO of TECO 2030.  

Sustainability is not only one of Implenia’s corporate values. The group also defined twelve sustainability goals to achieve until 2025, and fully supports the Norwegian government's goal for fossil-free construction sites by 2025. The generous funding by Enova will enable Implenia and TECO 2030 to achieve this goal.

Audun Aaland, CEO of Implenia Norway, is looking forward to the cooperation: “We believe that hydrogen will play a significant role as energy carrier at future construction sites, and we are proud to have the opportunity to drive this sustainable innovation together with TECO 2030”.

Contact for media:
Corporate Communications, T +41 58 474 74 77, communication@implenia.com

Contact for Investors and Analysts:
Investor Relations, T +41 58 474 35 04, ir@implenia.com

Dates for investors:
17 August 2021:     Media and analysts’ conference on the half-year results

As Switzerland’s leading construction and real estate service provider, Implenia develops and builds homes, workplaces and infrastructure for future generations in Switzerland and Germany. It also plans and builds complex infrastructure projects in Austria, France, Sweden and Norway. Formed in 2006, the company can look back on around 150 years of construction tradition. The company brings together the know-how of its highly skilled consulting, planning and execution units under the umbrella of an integrated leading multi-national construction and real estate service provider. With its broad offering and the extensive experience of its specialists, the Group can realise complex major projects and provide customer-centric support across the entire life-cycle of a building or structure. It focuses on customer needs and on striking a sustainable balance between commercial success and social and environmental responsibility. Implenia, with its headquarters in Opfikon near Zurich, employs more than 8,500 people in Europe and posted revenue of almost CHF 4 billion in 2020. The company is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (IMPN, CH0023868554). More information can be found at implenia.com.