Successful deployment on innovative all-electric demolition site

Erlangen in Franconia is home to a very special building site: On the site of a former administrative building, two buildings with a surface area of around 3300 square metres are being demolished. The extraordinary feature: All vehicles and machines from excavators and wheel loaders through to the crushing plant are operated electrically. This is probably the first fully electric demolition site in the world.

No diesel, exhaust gases, hardly any noise. Instead, electric motors hum quietly, powered by a specially constructed power infrastructure. An all-electric impact crusher MOBIREX MR 100 NEOe from Kleemann is used for material processing on site.

“In our eyes, the crushing plant differs significantly from others – especially with regard to its low starting currents”, reports Michael Metzner, Managing Director of Metzner Recycling and worksite manager. “This feature was a decisive factor in choosing to deploy the plant”.

Infrastructure as the key

In order to implement the idea of an “electric building site” that arose during the ongoing project, the energy supply first had to be expanded. “We had to set up a new transformer station, underground cables, and charging stations”, says Michael Metzner. Although basic power was available on site, it was not sufficient to operate all machines simultaneously. The power source is green electricity from the Erlangen municipal grid. The aim is to achieve significant CO₂ savings compared to conventional demolition sites through the use of electric machines and optimised recycling of materials on site. In addition, noise and particulate emissions on site are significantly reduced.

Ready to go immediately and significantly quieter

The electric impact crusher offers advantages not only in terms of emissions, but also with regard to handling: “As soon as you push the button, the machine is ready for work and functions“, says Tony Heimann, machine operator at Metzner Recycling. The MR 100 NEOe starts work immediately without a warm-up phase. There are no breaks for refuelling and no refilling of diesel or AdBlue. This saves time, reduces the risk of accidents and makes logistics on the work site easier. At the same time, the noise level is significantly reduced, which is a major advantage not only for local residents but also for employees on the work site. Machine operator Tony Heimann uses SPECTIVE CONNECT for control and monitoring: “This is very helpful. I can also see from a distance how many tons we have produced, or how high plant utilisation is. In the event of malfunctions, I can forward fault codes directly to other employees via the app“.

Efficient processing, high-quality final product

The impact crusher MOBIREX MR 100 NEOe on the work site processes a recycling mixture of bricks, concrete, asphalt and cast concrete with a feed size of 0 to 300 millimetres. The result is a pure grain mixture. “The material produced has a lower content of fines than with other impact crushers known to us. This significantly improves recyclability and makes an important contribution to the production of high-quality recycled building materials”, says Michael Metzner. The produced fractions – 0–4 mm and 4–16 mm – can be used, among other things, as aggregates for new concrete. Around 96 percent of the demolition material should be reused directly. Important and helpful special equipment at the crushing plant includes a wind sifter and a magnetic separator.

Insights for the future

“We have gained a lot of valuable experience in recent weeks – particularly with regard to the all-electric drives and the power supply for the machines“, says Michael Metzner. Kleemann sales representative at Wirtgen Deutschland, Michell Blasczyk, confirms: “We were able to demonstrate that the machine can be easily integrated into the work site process despite other equipment such as excavators or wheel loaders being connected at the same time”.

Strong signal for the industry

Demand for all-electric crushing and screening plants is increasing, especially in urban areas. The advantages are obvious: fewer emissions, less noise, less lorry traffic thanks to the reuse of recycled material directly on the work site. “We see this as the future of the building industry,” Michael Metzner concluded. “Emissions-free demolition, in particular, will open up new avenues, especially for inner-city projects”.