Sometimes you don’t need any diesel

Implenia is running a model building site in the Norwegian capital completely free from fossil fuels. The experience gained has been positive.

At first glance, everything appears normal: Implenia Norge has been running a road construction project in Oslo’s Storo neighbourhood since August 2018 designed to improve access to the tram line and cycle path. The company is also rehabilitating water and sewerage pipes at the same time. 

Inspecting the building site more closely, however, reveals something is very different: none of the machinery or vehicles run on fossil fuel. Thus the site plays host to purely electric loaders, transporters and special vehicles, and the HGVs are filled with biodiesel. There are also battery-powered vibration platforms in service.

In addition, Implenia selected materials in line with sustainability principles and is using a special low-CO2 concrete. These pioneering environmentally sustainable measures enabled Implenia to triumph over the competition and win the contract. The city council had accorded a weighting of 20% to environmental factors when awarding the tender.

The 15 Implenia employees are proud to be working on this forward-looking building site. But there are also challenges to be overcome, such as ensuring batteries are charged in good time. There are also many people who drive their own electric car to the site, for whom Implenia has set up a charging station by the site huts.

The site in Oslo exemplifies the possibilities currently available for significant climate action on building sites, i.e. in Implenia’s core business, which generates the bulk of CO2 emissions. It is therefore all the more pleasing that the machinery and vehicles used so far have proved their worth, including economically. Based on its positive experience, Implenia Norge now intends to make greater use of electric machines in more of its projects.