In Erfurt, all preparations are being made for the National Garden Show (BUGA) taking place in 2021. In designing one of the highlights, the Danakil Desert and Jungle House, only emission-free construction machines and equipment were considered, in order to protect the exotic plants but also to be able to work efficiently – an ideal construction site for the zero emission solutions by Wacker Neuson.
From April 23 to October 10, 2021, the National Garden Show will be held in Erfurt with two exhibitions – egapark, with an area of 36 hectares, and Petersberg with seven hectares. The highlight of egapark is Danakil, consisting of a Desert and Jungle house with quite a special visitor experience. “In our Danakil house, we show the visitors how plants and animals use different strategies to adjust to the environment and adapt to the lack or overabundance of water,” explains Kathrin Weiss, the managing director of egapark and BUGA. “Very sensitive plants are located in this tropical jungle house. Due to this, it is very important to us when putting in these trees and flowers that no exhaust emissions of any kind are created and that the environment is protected.” It is in construction sites with special requirements like this one that zero emission solutions by Wacker Neuson can fully play to their strengths.
Special requirements – special solutions
The gardening and landscaping company LINDENLAUB GmbH, with its headquarters in Weimar, has signed on to provide the Desert and Jungle House with trees and plants. For this special project, managing director Udo Lindenlaub has put his trust in Wacker Neuson: “We have been working together with Wacker Neuson for almost 50 years. In this special application, we were able to test the electric construction machines and equipment by Wacker Neuson ourselves.” All products in the zero emission range work free of exhaust emissions and are extremely quiet – without compromising performance. “This way, on the one hand, the employees are protected as, due to the sensitive plants, opening windows or doors or using fans is not possible during the work on the Danakil house. On the other hand, the sensitive plants are not exposed to any exhaust emissions and no damage is caused,” Udo Lindenlaub explains. What’s more: The zero emission machines and equipment are particularly easy to operate, supply sufficient energy for a typical workday and can really score points in confined work environments due to their compact dimensions.
Emission-free, from the vibratory rammer to the excavator
Almost the entire zero emission portfolio of Wacker Neuson was in use in the building of the Danakil house. The mini-excavator EZ17e, the latest addition to the zero emission series, was responsible for the excavation work in order to be able to put plants in the right places. Besides this, its tasks included moving natural stones. No problem for the 1.5 metric-ton electric excavator, as it has the same performance as the conventional model. This is provided by the high-quality lithium ion battery technology, which has been employed by Wacker Neuson for several years already and is especially durable. It can be charged at a household outlet (110-230 volts) or by quick charging with high-voltage current (415 volts) in only four hours.
In material transport, the electric wheel loader WL20e and the electric wheel dumper DW15e demonstrated their skills. Both machines are equipped with a high-quality AGM battery (Absorbent Glass Mat), which is characterized by particularly simple handling and low maintenance effort. The wheel loader was used for a variety of applications in this project: For one, with a shovel volume of 0.2 cubic meters, it loaded the dumper with earth. For another, equipped with a pallet fork, it proved a worthy transport helper. The wheel dumper DW15e, with a payload of 1.5 metric tons, is equipped with an electric motor for the drive system and another for the work hydraulics, in order to appropriately and independently take on output as needed and minimize energy consumption. When braking the machine or when driving downhill, the energy is fed back into the battery and used to charge the battery.
To prepare the paths in the Danakil house, the ground in particularly confined areas was compacted with a battery-powered rammer; a battery-powered vibratory plate was deployed in larger areas. Both units of compaction equipment can be operated with the same modular lithium-ion battery, which can be replaced in no time – specially designed for the hard work applications in the construction industry.
Environmental protection as a driving force
“Fundamentally, issues such as sustainability and climate and environmental protection are particularly important to us at BUGA. And this, for us, of course means that we are very happy when there are zero emissions as well as zero noise on construction sites. Visitors to the egapark too can benefit from this, as they can experience for themselves what kind of new things are being created for the exhibition,” Kathrin Weiss concludes. The zero emission range by Wacker Neuson includes three battery-powered rammers, three battery-operated vibratory plates, the dual power excavator, to which an electro- hydraulic drive unit can be connected in addition to the diesel engine, an electric mini-excavator, an electric wheel loader, electrically operated track and wheel dumpers, and an internal vibrator system for concrete compaction.
