The Skanska Costain Strabag (SCS) joint venture, which is building a 250km section of HS2 between London and Birmingham, is trialling an electric telehandler on its site in West Ruislip.
Manufactured by Faresin and supplied by plant hire firm Flannery, the electric unit is estimated to have saved over 400 litres of fuel compared to a traditional telehandler with a combustion engine.
The machine’s manufacturer claims that it offers the same performance as an equivalent conventional model but without the noise and emissions of a combustion engine. It also offers reduced charging times and “notable savings” in maintenance when compared to a combustion engine telehandler.
James Richardson, managing director, Costain Skanska Strabag joint venture said: “Driving innovation that reduces emissions and noise and embracing new technology is at the heart of our Costain, Skanska and STRABAG Joint Venture work on HS2.
“We were pleased to be the first construction site in the UK to trial the Eco Telehandler with Flannery and will be looking at opportunities to bring them on site to reduce carbon and deliver the project more efficiently”.
HS2’s air quality lead Andrea Davidson said: “HS2 is leading the way with green technology in order to reduce our carbon footprint across the whole project, supporting the UK’s green economic recovery and making a major contribution to the country’s 2050 net zero carbon emissions target.
“Putting the environment at the heart of everything we do at HS2, the project is well placed to encourage innovations and set new standards in the industry to help improve air quality on construction sites. We’ve set ambitious targets for our supply chain to minimise whole life carbon emissions, and Flannery have gone above and beyond these, providing an industry-first in the materials handling equipment sector.”
