ROGER Bullivant Limited (RBL) has announced it has trialled the first ever fully battery-powered pile driving rig in the UK at a school site in North Ayrshire.
The Junttan PMx2e, powered by a 392 kWh high-voltage battery system, was deployed at the Ardrossan Community Campus site, which is being built by Morgan Sindall.
The rig produces no local CO2 emissions and operates with less noise pollution. The move is said to mark the first time a fully battery-powered pile driving rig has been used in the UK.
The PMx2e features a replaceable battery pack and provides up to eight hours of piling per charge. The Junttan PMx2e was supplied to site with a 40kW portable outdoor charger to reduce the power requirement on site. Fitted with a five-tonne accelerated hammer and a maximum pile length capability of 20 metres, the PMx2e has a total operating weight of 63 tonnes.
The rig was trialled at a Morgan Sindall Construction site where RBL is installing 581 driven steel tubular piles to depths of 9m to 16m below ground level. RBL said the site’s challenging ground conditions – reclaimed industrial land with aggressive made ground – required a ‘robust’ solution.
Driven steel tubular piles were selected for their ability to penetrate the bedrock giving the project a solid foundation solution.
To enhance sustainability goals, RBL utilised repurposed tubular steel from John Lawrie Tubulars. The total saving across the project is said to equate to 1,622 tonnes of CO₂, which has been formally verified by the intelligent carbon reduction tool, CarboniCa, which measures the whole life carbon emissions of a building including carbon produced during construction, manufacturing materials, the building’s use, and deconstruction.
Further supporting the low-carbon approach, RBL used an electric forklift from Sunbelt Rentals.
Once complete, the Ardrossan Community Campus will house both Winton Primary and Ardrossan Academy. RBL’s involvement began in summer 2022, providing geotechnical advice to Blyth & Blyth Consulting Engineers and working with Morgan Sindall Construction to develop a ‘cost-effective and resilient’ piling solution.
