WACKER Neuson has provided details of its role in supporting the construction of the world’s first ‘energy island’.
Since the start of 2024, the energy island has been under construction in the Princess Elisabeth zone, 45km from the Belgian coast. The six-hectare Princess Elisabeth Island will serve as an energy hub from about 2030 and is tipped to provide a significant contribution to the sustainable energy supply in Europe.
The island is being erected on a total of 23 caissons, which are being manufactured in the North Sea port Vlissingen in the Netherlands by TM Edison, a joint venture of the Belgian companies DEME and Jan de Nul Group. Each caisson is approximately 60m-long, 30m-wide, and 22m-high.
The Wacker Neuson battery-converter backpack ACBe and various high-frequency internal vibrators IRFU were used in the consolidation of these concrete elements.
Wacker Neuson revealed that more than 120 high-frequency internal vibrators IRFU are in use, ensuring ‘consistently high and reliable’ consolidation.
“Each caisson is poured 24 hours a day over seven to eight days,” explained Matthias Liefooghe, technical superintendent heavy equipment, Jan de Nul/TM Edison. “During this period, it is necessary to continuously consolidate the concrete. We can completely rely on the high quality of advice from Wacker Neuson and the reliability of the products used in this project. Wacker Neuson has found very good solutions for all our technical challenges.”
Wacker Neuson internal vibrators with an exchangeable battery as a backpack system are also used on this site. The battery-converter backpack ACBe makes it possible to work without a power cable, which means greater freedom of movement for operators.
The Battery One battery drives the ACBe: a powerful lithium-ion battery, which can be exchanged between the backpacks and further equipment. Matthias Liefooghe added, “If a battery is empty, it is simply replaced and you can continue to work at the push of a button. As a result, we can consolidate concrete around the clock.”
Concrete consolidation has a long history at Wacker Neuson as the manufacturer invented the internal vibrator in the 1930s. The specialists at Wacker Neuson Concrete Solutions are building on this experience and using their knowledge to provide advice on complex concrete projects.
