Preparing for a new, sustainable district using fossil-free processes

19. October 2021

Solution provider

Ramboll is a leading international architecture, engineering, and consultancy company, owned by the Ramboll Foundation.

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Challenge

While cities often focus on how to reduce CO2 emissions and air pollution in urban areas from road transport, there is also a growing interest in the Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM) sector. The reason is that this sector has become an increasingly significant source of CO2 and air pollution. In the EU alone, the NRMM sector is responsible for around 15 per cent of total NOx emissions, 5 per cent of total emissions from particulate matters as well as about 2 per cent of the annual total greenhouse gas emissions.

Solution

In the city of Torup, Denmark, the construction of a new sustainable district has commenced. At the construction site, the preparation of the land for construction is done by only using fossil-free processes. Accordingly, all machinery under 2.5 tonnes are electric and larger machines must use HVO biofuel. The additional cost is approx. 3% compared to a conventional project using fossil fuels.

Result

The project in Torup shows great potential for CO2 reductions at construction sites worldwide. When the preparation of the land is finalised, it is expected that the project will have saved 88 per cent of CO2 compared to conventional preparation methods.