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Weekly Newsletter

07 August 2023

Weekly Newsletter

07 August 2023

Mammoet develops zero-emission heavy transport vehicle

The new technology can completely eliminate the carbon footprint of construction site transport, claims the Dutch company.

Oliver Gordon August 02 2023

Dutch heavy lifting and transport company Mammoet has developed a new zero-emission heavy transport vehicle that can eliminate the carbon impact of installing large infrastructure such as bridges, wind turbines and power station components. 

The climate-friendly solution works by converting existing self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) from diesel to electric power. SPMTs are the workhorses of heavy industry, used in large energy and construction projects all over the world – they were developed by Mammoet in 1984 and currently boast more than 40,000 axle lines in use globally. 

Mammoet has created a retrofit kit to replace diesel engines in the vehicles with electric motors. Once converted, each SPMT works in the same way as before: transporting objects weighing thousands of tonnes at walking pace, using a remote control. Retrofitting the existing SPMT fleets, as opposed to buying new zero-emission equipment, reduces both waste and additional construction. 

The new technology can completely eliminate the carbon footprint of site transport, claims Mammoet. The solution was part-financed by the DKTI, a Dutch Government programme to develop climate technologies and innovations in logistics.

In related news, the European Commission this month proposed a package of laws to cut emissions from the freight sector and shift EU cargo from road to rail.

ESG 2.0 marks a shift towards stricter environmental rules

ESG is moving into a different era, which we call ESG 2.0. While ESG 1.0 was driven by voluntary corporate action, spurred by pressure from activist consumers and investors, ESG 2.0 is being driven by a new wave of government policies. The EU has taken the regulatory lead, with rules introduced or in the pipeline that will price emissions, regulate the use of the terms ‘ESG’ and ‘sustainability’ in marketing materials, and make ESG reporting mandatory. The US has taken a different approach, favoring less regulation and more financial support in the form of tax breaks for clean industry (renewables plus nuclear and hydrogen). China is planning to expand its emissions trading system to more sectors, decarbonize its heavy industry, and ramp up its use of renewables. The new policy direction is mainly motivated by the ambition to hit net zero emissions targets. But on top of this, governments are now competing for clean industry and trying to challenge China’s leadership on the production of the world’s green technologies such as solar panels and batteries, as well as the production and refinement of materials needed for energy transition such as lithium. These driving forces are leading to policy that will impact every sector, not just heavy industry, and will keep ESG near the top of the regulatory agenda over the longer term.

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