On Monday 20 September, the State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management, Steven Van Weyenberg paid a working visit to Staad BV. During the visit, Pieter Staadegaard, General Director of Staad BV, among others, taught the State Secretary his insights into the market in the field of emission-free machines.
The subsidiary of Staad is called Electric Construction Equipment and was founded in January 2020 to fully focus on achieving a zero-emission construction site, Electric Construction Equipment has started the electrification of excavators. The State Secretary was impressed by the sustainable developments that are already taking place and noted with great interest the fact that most electric excavators are currently exported by Electric Construction Equipment to other European countries. That should change. New subsidies that should come into effect next year will make it more manageable for entrepreneurs to make the step to an electric excavator. The Dutch market can be a frontrunner in the electrification of construction equipment, but for this the government must take the right steps so that every entrepreneur can also have access to it.
The ambitions of Electric Construction Equipment are therefore to continue taking the steps towards an emission-free construction site, making this more accessible for everyone. At the moment, the excavators are still quite expensive because there is too little demand for them. ''If we can scale up, the costs for our customers can also be reduced,' says Pieter Staadegaard.'' In some other European countries, such as Scandinavia, for example, the right steps have already been taken and you see rapid developments on the construction site. The subsidy schemes that apply there mean that as a medium or small company you can get back up to 50% of the purchase value via a subsidy pot. The subsidy scheme SEB- (Clean and Emissionless Building) is expected to start in the Netherlands at the beginning of 2022. An official from IenW says that it is now being designed. The idea is that a subsidy scheme in the Netherlands will also ensure that entrepreneurs are supported in purchasing zero-emission construction equipment. So good news! The Clean and Emissions Building program was set up in part at the request of De Groene Koers. This is a collaboration between the Ministries of IenW, BZK and EZK with the market and local authorities, which combines the policy objectives of the Climate Agreement, Clean Air Agreement and the Nitrogen Approach for mobile equipment and construction logistics. More information: www.opwegnaarseb.nl
Working visit thanks to the Green Course
Equipment suppliers play a key role in making equipment more sustainable on the way to an emission-free construction site. Through sustainable machine innovation, the supplying sector takes its responsibility in promoting a healthy living environment and a better environment. Inspiring frontrunners who develop zero- and low-emission machines are an example for others to work together for a sustainable sector. That is why De Groene Koers supports companies such as Staad that specifically work on making equipment more sustainable. This visit to Staad was made possible in part thanks to De Groene Koers. De Groene Koers is the sustainable industry initiative of BMWT, Bouwend Nederland, CUMELA and VHG, which promotes the sustainability of equipment by connecting parties, sharing knowledge and promoting inspiring examples. More information www.degroenekoers.nl
Importance of the role of government, client and SMEs
The State Secretary also met two SME entrepreneurs at Staad, Chris Ploegmakers (Ploegam) and Jaap Veldhuizen (board member Cumela), who are keen to invest in electrical equipment. They emphasized that 70% of machine owners are SMEs. Very relevant discussion partners for government and clients. Jaap Veldhuizen simply calculated that the ambition of the climate agreement, of 0.4 mega tons of CO2 until 2030, corresponds to a reduction of 125 million liters of diesel. Based on an average diesel consumption of 7,500 liters per machine per year, more than 15,000 machines will have to work 100% emission-free by 2030. In view of the fact that the current development has only just started and there is no question of series production yet, a a strong stimulus package while maintaining a level playing field is necessary. Moreover, with their purchasing policy, clients are sometimes even more ambitious than government policy. Alignment with the transition paths that are being worked on in the context of Clean and Emission-free Building, but also enforcement of Emvi promises are therefore important, says the cumela board member.
“Very valuable”
After the conversation, the State Secretary said that he was impressed by the Electric Construction Equipment company and the stories he heard. Van Weyenberg: “Such visits help me to ensure that the policy we develop is as close as possible to practice. That is very valuable. Ultimately, I want the financial support we deploy to really help entrepreneurs electrify excavators and other construction equipment. Industry experience is of great help. So many thanks!”
Additional support for electrifying excavators. State Secretary Steven Van Weyenberg announced on Budget Day that the cabinet is allocating money for this. You can watch the full video via the link below: https://twitter.com/MinIenW/status/1440305474797113354?s=20
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