Construction testbed for ‘fossil-free’ contracting

The project is Sweden’s largest fossil free worksite

An area of Stockholm city centre in Sweden will use electric equipment from Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) as it becomes a testbed for emission-free construction equipment as work begins on its urban transformation.

The project contracts stipulate for fossil-free equipment wherever possible, including transport to and from the construction site. There was also a requirement that at least one of the larger excavators working on site should be electric – Volvo CE supplied the new 23-ton EC230 Electric excavator together with a mobile peak-shaving power unit.

The EC230 will help excavate 75,000 tons of rock and 96,000 tons of soil in the first stages of the project, for an estimated 2,700 working hours.

As Sweden’s largest fossil free worksite, it is set to save approximately 2,012 tons of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of 35 trucks driving about eight hours a day over one year. Volvo CE is working on the project with the City of Stockholm, construction company Skanska, Volvo CE dealer Swecon, and other partners.

“Partnership is how we can accelerate our journey towards emission-free jobsites. We have powerful and reliable solutions like our EC230 Electric providing all the benefits of electric equipment: zero exhaust emissions, near silence and more comfortable operation,” said Fredrik Tjernström, responsible for Electromobility Solutions Sales at Volvo CE.

Insights from the EC230 Electric’s use will provide data on factors such as productivity, cost and scalability as well as prove useful for other partners in their ongoing ambitions to reduce climate impact through their work.

Volvo CE’s EC230 will help excavate 75,000 tons of rock and 96,000 tons of soil in the first stages of the project

“We want to drive the development of fossil-free contracts, and we can do that by setting tender requirements in our procurements,” said Anders Österberg, deputy financial councillor and chairman of the exploitation committee in the City of Stockholm.

“In the contract, where large amounts of rock and soil are to be excavated, one of the requirements is that at least 10% of the machine hours must be powered by electricity.”

Construction is set to finish in 2033 when it will provide 3,000 new homes and 14,000 workplaces. In addition to the EC230 Electric, it is required that all other machines be run on HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil) – a biofuel which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90%.