A9 highway expansion in the Netherlands
Spread over 2022, we have been able to supply around 4,000 tons of steel for various smaller structures. However, the focus of the operation for us lies in the first two quarters of 2023. Between February and June, we delivered more than 16,000 tons of steel sheet piling to the VeenIX construction consortium. In addition to the sheet pile wall, we also supplied the combined wall. It concerns 2,200 tons of tubular piles with interlocks (914×16 mm and 914×20 mm), of which 1,800 tons for temporary application and 400 tons as permanent foundation. In addition, we produced another 1,100 tons of bored piles with a diameter of 457 with wall thicknesses between 10 and 16 mm. For this project, we supplied almost all products from our production range.
Of the 16,000 tons of steel sheet piles, 9,000 tons are used for temporary constructions. The remaining 7,000 tons of sheet piles will be installed with a final retaining or load-bearing function. We often offer a rental or sale and buy-back contract for temporary applications. This guarantees that we will return the materials to our stock at the end of the project. The temporary combi wall will also be bought back by ArcelorMittal at the end of the project. All these materials can then be used in future projects.
For this project, we also supplied both used and new sheet piles from our stock in the Netherlands. The remaining part is delivered from the ArcelorMittal factory in Luxembourg with newly produced sheet piles. This combination was also chosen because the project required large quantities in a short period of time. It was therefore also a logistical challenge, in which we delivered to the project location by inland vessels as well as by truck.
For this project, we also supplied both used and new sheet piles from our stock in the Netherlands. The remaining part is delivered from the ArcelorMittal factory in Luxembourg with newly produced sheet piles. This combination was also chosen because the project required large quantities in a short period of time. It was therefore also a logistical challenge, in which we delivered to the project location by inland vessels as well as by truck.
ArcelorMittal also supported the consortium VeenIX with calculations on the sheet piles with regard to sustainability and the end-of-life scenario. We proposed a production and end-of-life scenario of the sheet piles for this project and presented it to VeenIX. Because many temporary structures are involved, a lot of steel can soon be reused elsewhere. This has a major impact on the final environmental impact of the project. Moreover, the sheet piles we supplied are produced from approx. 100% scrap in an electric arc furnace, including the (used) sheet piles from stock. This leads to a much lower environmental impact (430 kg CO2 per ton) compared to sheet piles from a blast furnace (approx. 2,500 kg CO2 per ton).
At the moment, we can also supply sheet piles from scrap produced with 100% green electricity, which further reduces the impact to 360 kg CO2 per ton. The EPD's for the Dutch market have recently been published for both products, the EcoSheetPile™ and EcoSheetPile™ Plus (on 100% green electricity).