BAM Infra has converted an asphalt spreader into what it says is the world's first fully electrically version of the plant.
The Dutch company, which uses the English strapline ‘Building a Sustainable Tomorrow’, said that working with manufacturer Wirtgen and another Dutch firm, New Electric, it had replaced the Stage V motor with an electric drive consisting of a fixed battery of 270 kWh and two ‘smartly switched’ electric motors.
It added that with a second 270 KWh battery, the equipment can immediately move on to the next job after a long day of work. The exchangeable battery is also suitable for use in other machines.
BAM Infra said the plant saves about 150 litres of diesel in an eight-hour working day and therefore more than 93,000 kilograms of CO2 and 115,000 grams of nitrogen oxide.
It added that the electric asphalt spreader makes significantly less noise than current machines.
In a statement, the firm said: ‘We continuously look for opportunities for a positive environmental impact on and in our environment.'
It added that in terms of equipment, it does this by training employees in the 'nieuwe draaien’ (new turning - a more efficient way of using plant), as well as by investing in electrical machinery.
It said that 90% of its machinery runs on Stage V engines with hydrotreated vegetable oil as fuel and that it aims to have the first completely emission-free asphalt set on the road by the middle of this year.
