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ILF has committed itself to becoming ‘Net Zero’ by 2040.

Becoming ‘Net Zero’ first and foremost means reducing, reducing and (once again!) reducing emissions. In line with the Science Based Target Initiative, we are following the pathway towards achieving net zero emissions by making ambitious efforts to reduce our overall greenhouse gas emissions by at least 90% by 2040, and by offsetting a maximum of 10% of our remaining, unavoidable emissions.

How will ILF become ‘Net Zero‘ by 2040?

Having set ourselves near-term targets for 2030 and committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2040, it is now time to take concrete steps to reach this ambitious goal. The Sustainability Team at ILF has therefore organized for a number of Net Zero workshops to be held, where colleagues from all levels of the ILF hierarchy will be able to share their ideas and together formulate specific goals and measures to be taken at their ILF location. In view of our current carbon footprint, special attention will be given to ILF’s “top three” emission sources: Business Travel by Aircraft, Business Travel in Company Vehicles and Employee Commuting.

At ILF, we know that achieving net zero emissions by 2040 in line with the Science Based Targets Initiative is an ambitious goal, but we are ready and willing to do whatever it takes to reach this goal!

The Glenmuckloch Energy Park (GB-SCT) project entails the conversion of a disused open-cast coal mine into a renewable energy hub. This Energy Park will involve the development of both a 210 MW Pumped Hydroelectric Energy Storage (PHES) plant and a 33.6 MW wind farm on the same site.

During its previous operation, the Glenmuckloch mine was contributing to the greenhouse gas emissions associated with coal-powered energy generation. The envisaged Glenmuckloch Energy Park will serve the purpose of actively reversing these impacts, by contributing to the transition from thermal to renewable energy generation.

The former mining operations at Glenmuckloch created a significant void in the ground, which is to be used as the lower reservoir. Approximately 220 m above the lower reservoir, a new turkey’s nest reservoir will be constructed. The two reservoirs will be connected by an above-ground steel penstock entering a shaft powerhouse located adjacent to the lower reservoir. The PHES will be able to provide approximately 1,600 MWh of renewable energy per cycle.

As part of the decommissioning process for the mine, the entire Glenmuckloch area will need to be rehabilitated. Instead of allowing the mine to become a dormant asset, the conversion of the site into a renewable energy hub will not only provide energy security for the region, but will also help to create jobs for the local communities.

ILF, together with the lead partner Ove Arup & Partners Limited (Arup), has been appointed as the Owner’s Engineer for the development of this project. Arup will oversee the full development of the wind farm project components, while ILF has been engaged as a specialist sub-consultant to oversee the development of the PHES project components. The project is being financed by the Foresight Group (Foresight), a sustainability-led alternative assets and SME investment manager.

The European Union has declared that hydrogen – and its derivatives, such as ammonia and methanol – are key to achieving the Union’s legally binding obligations to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels) and to become climate neutral by 2050.

As Europe is unable to produce sufficient quantities of hydrogen for its own needs, imports from overseas are currently the subject of many detailed investigations.

Late last year, political leaders from Germany and Canada entered into a hydrogen alliance, based on the idea of exporting clean hydrogen to the EU in order to help reduce the need for natural gas imports. Shortly after the alliance was formed, ILF began working on two techno-economic studies on Canada’s readiness to transport hydrogen products by sea from Eastern Canada to Europe.
ILF’s involvement in these studies is an example of one of the contributions that ILF is making towards a sustainable future for our planet.

Within the scope of work for the new twin-track Feeder Line North of the Brenner Base Tunnel, DB Netz AG has commissioned ILF Consulting Engineers, as part of an engineering consortium with two other partners, to carry out the route design and project planning works for the preliminary design of the Grafing–Ostermünchen (GER) section.

Currently under construction, this section forms part of the Feeder Line North of the Brenner Base Tunnel which is an integral part of the Scandinavian–Mediterrranean Corridor (Scan–Med Corridor) from Finland to Malta. This corridor is also the most important North–South Railway Link in Europe. The approx. 15-km-long section comprises the northernmost part of this project. In addition to open-track sections, associated traffic infrastructure, bridges and tunnels are also planned.

The Building Information Modelling (BIM) method is being used during the design which also includes an option for further design phases (conceptual design, permit application design and tender design).

Having already been involved in the previous design phase for this section (namely the route selection procedure), ILF has detailed knowledge of the local site conditions and can therefore support this complex project in the further design phases.

With less than 100 m³ of renewable water resources per capita and per year, Jordan is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world.
The existing water resources are already heavily overexploited and are rapidly being depleted as a result of supplying a growing population. The water sector in Jordan is characterized by high water losses and low cost coverage.

To tackle the challenges associated with water supply in Jordan, the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) has commissioned a joint venture, consisting of ILF and Engicon, with the project “Energy Efficiency in the Water Sector II in Jordan”. The focus of this project is on reducing the amount of non-revenue water, such as leakages or illegal connections, as well as reducing the carbon footprint of the water sector in general.

A multi-pronged approach has been chosen to make every drop count. Five selected pumping stations will be rehabilitated, mainly by replacing inefficient equipment such as pumps, fittings and valves. To ensure a more sustainable operation of the water network, an additional booster pumping station will be constructed. Furthermore, the water network itself will undergo several changes in order to make the best use of the mountainous terrain.

Measures which increase energy efficiency in the water sector are both environmentally and economically beneficial for all parties involved.

The rehabilitation of the pumping stations and the restructuring of the water supply network are projected to save more than 9,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually.

Energy demand can be lowered by approximately 50%, and, in addition, up to 20% of physical water losses are expected to be eliminated.

Phase 1 of the construction works has recently started and is expected to be completed in 2025. Phase 2 is currently out to tender.

ILF has won the contract for project management, development and design, including management of all environmental issues, for the Linz Urban Railway, Austria.

The metropolitan area of Linz (in the province of Upper Austria) has a number of hospitals, universities, cultural and administrative facilities and offers more jobs than there are inhabitants (> 200,000). As a result, Linz has been struggling with commuter traffic for a long time.

A high-quality alternative to private transport is therefore needed and a new public transport solution is being developed. The key objectives are to provide high-quality transport for passengers, fast travel times, direct connections to high-level institutions and links to the existing infrastructure: the Linz Urban Railway.

ILF was commissioned by Schiene OÖ GmbH, together with a local partner in Linz, to prepare the documents for the preliminary design of all the technical and environmental aspects and to clarify the necessary legal proceedings for all sections of the Linz Urban Railway. Planning for the approval procedure and the environmental impact assessment for the urban railway’s connection to the university is an optional part of the contract.

NZSki, one of New Zealand’s ski field operators, plans to increase the capacity of its ski area ”The Remarkables” near Queenstown from its current capacity of approx. 3,500 skiers to a future capacity of approx. 7,500 skiers. For the proposed plans to become reality, the neighboring bowl, the Doolans Basin, shall be developed into a ski area. To achieve this, various options will be investigated in a masterplan and a development strategy will subsequently be formulated.

ILF Consulting Engineers has been entrusted with preparing this masterplan which covers slopes, ropeways, snow-making systems, ski tunnels, parking facilities, mountain restaurants, maintenance and service infrastructure as well as connections to the existing ski area. The masterplan will also encompass all the construction measures required to operate the ski resort following the increase in capacity.

ILF Consulting Engineers has set another historical milestone in its 50+ years of engineering excellence. We are extremely proud to have been appointed as the consultant of choice for the pre-development studies for three multi-gigawatt solar PV parks. These parks, with an installed capacity of up to 30 GWp, will by far be the world’s largest renewable energy parks in terms of installed capacity.

ILF will provide world-class engineering services, accompanying the parks’ development up to the point where the parks can be tendered on an independent power producer (IPP) basis.

The pre-development studies shall include performance of the following tasks:

• a preliminary site assessment
• preparation of a master plan
• environmental baseline surveys
• an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA)
• the permit application procedure
• various studies, including geotechnical, hydrological, glint/glare and corrosion studies
• an energy yield assessment
• technology selection
• CAPEX/OPEX estimation
• advanced design of the parks

The parks are among the most ambitious and prestigious developments taking place in the world in terms of sustainability, innovation and cutting edge technology, and are a key puzzle piece in Saudi Arabia’s strategy to become a world champion in renewable energy by 2030. This fits perfectly with the ILF Group’s commitment to climate protection and its vision of improving the quality of life around the globe.

Digitalization poses new challenges to be faced in road tunnels – challenges which require interdisciplinary action.

Coordinated by the Federal Highway Research Institute (“Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen” GER) and ILF, the bilateral research project Artificial Intelligence for Improvement of Safety of Tunnels and Tunnel Control Centers (“KITT”) is developing innovative solutions. By using data from Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI), hazardous situations in tunnels, or anomalies in IT security, can be recognized more quickly and reliably.

ILF is proud to be able to apply its extensive experience of performing risk analyses in road tunnels and its own (self-developed) tunnel risk model TuRisMo to improve existing methods by using C-ITS technology.
The research project is being funded by the Security Research Funding Program (“KIRAS”) set up by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism (“BMLRT”) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (“BMBF”) as part of the call for Artificial Intelligence in Civil Security Research (“Künstliche Intelligenz in der zivilen Sicherheitsforschung”).

As part of a joint venture (JV), ILF has been awarded the contract for the preparation of tender documents for the Eastern Section of the 2nd S-Bahn Main Line in Munich.

This section of the line comprises approx. 3.4 km of tunnels, one underground halt and several civil engineering structures. ILF has also been involved in the design of the Western Section of the line since 2017. As part of different JVs, ILF was commissioned with the final design and the permit application design services for the overall project, the preparation of tender documents and construction design services for two underground halts.

The overall project, with a line length of approx. 10 km, contains a tunnel section with a length of approx. 7 km and three underground halts (with lengths between 230 m and 250 m, and a depth of approx. 45 m). The tunnels – two tunnels and one emergency tunnel – will be driven mainly by TBMs. The underground halts are being constructed using the cut-and-cover method, and for the platform tunnels, the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) is being used.

The Deutsche Bahn has taken the decision to extend the underground section of the line under the city center (by adding a new line beneath the existing one) because the S-Bahn Main Line in Munich was no longer able to handle today’s passenger numbers.

ILF is pleased to be able to present the design for the tunnel portals with the widest span in the company’s more than 55-year history.
As the leading partner of a planning consortium, ILF, on behalf of ASFINAG, has been working on the detailed design for the tunnel structures within phase 1 of the A26 motorway construction project near Linz.

The motorway tunnel constructed in phase 1 of the project has four lanes in some sections and a total length of 2.4 km, including access and exit ramps. The two main portals of the tunnel deserve special attention: The portals of the two main carriageways, which shall directly adjoin the fourth Danube bridge on both sides, span a width of about 25 m and have a shotcrete thickness of only 60 cm. The operating rooms are located directly below these main portals.

Overcoming the challenge of designing and finally realizing tunnel portals of these dimensions has only been possible thanks to ILF’s partnership with ASFINAG and the joint venture ARGE A26 that is responsible for executing the project.

Thank you for the excellent cooperation!

ILF has been commissioned as part of an engineering consortium (INGE Axe Bauleitung) for the construction supervision for the new Axenstrasse road project. The project is expected to run until the end of 2033.

The Axenstrasse road was built between 1861 and 1865 and is located in Central Switzerland. The road has been damaged several times by rockfalls and mudslides, which is why a new Axenstrasse road is now being built.

ILF has commenced its construction supervision work at the Gumpisch temporary bridge. The temporary bridge will be constructed in an area sensitive to rockfalls and will allow traffic to be diverted from the Axenstrasse road thus facilitating further construction works. Construction of both the major tunnel construction lots is due to start in 2025. The construction site from Ingenbohl to Gumpisch stretches over a length of approx. 8 km. In the tunnel-driving phase, up to six tunnel drives (main and counter drives) are to be supervised in parallel. Also in the construction phase for the entire project, several construction sites for lining works are to be supervised in parallel.

In order to deal with the natural hazards posing a threat to the availability of the Axenstrasse road, an early warning system has been introduced and contributes to greater safety during construction works. Work on the Gumpisch temporary bridge is taking place whilst there is ongoing traffic on the Axenstrasse road. Thanks to the good cooperation with the road operator AfBN, the client and the security firm that are helping to control the adjacent traffic, the work and traffic have to date been accident-free.

The Baltic Pipe has recently started transporting gas to markets in Denmark, Sweden and Poland, as well as to neighboring markets. ILF is proud to have contributed to the timely start of operation for this unusually complex construction project.

The interconnector between Poland and Denmark can transport gas in both directions, which not only opens up a new supply route for the transport of natural gas from the Norwegian sea, but also leads to a diversification of gas supply sources for many countries in the Baltic Sea region and in Central and Eastern Europe. Around 2.4 bn m³ of gas are expected to be transported by the Baltic Pipe per year over the next ten years.

ILF has supported the clients, Energienet and Ramboll, with numerous engineering services for the Jutland–Funen section. These included, among others, project management, Owner’s Engineering services, detailed design/construction design, tendering and construction supervision.

Learn more here:   The project – Baltic Pipe Project (baltic-pipe.eu)

ILF and PGNiG Termika S.A. have signed a contract for the preparation of a feasibility study for the creation of an electrical connection between the Siekierki CHP plant and the Piaseczno–Mory transmission line in Poland.

The study shall investigate the feasibility of constructing a new 220 kV double-circuit line running from a new 220 kV switchyard to a cut in the 220 kV Piaseczno–Mory line, as well as a line to connect a new gas/steam unit to this switchyard. As part of the study, three different switchyard location options and several variants shall be presented. ILF will also give a recommendation on the optimal solution, taking all relevant planning, technological, social and environmental aspects into consideration.

“We always consider the impact on local residents and the environment in our work. We are focused on minimizing the impact on housing developments and valuable natural areas. In terms of planning for the timing and the amount of investment required in this project, we aim to make good use of existing infrastructure corridors from other transmission line facilities, and will consider different technological options – namely overhead lines and cable lines, as well as an option combining these two technologies.”
Rafal Blankiewicz, Managing Director of ILF Poland.

Providing efficient solutions for using existing snow-making infrastructure to additionally produce and store energy is also part of ILF’s portfolio – and exactly this is what has been done during one of our projects in the Kitzsteinhorn ski area (AUT).

The Gletscherbahnen Kaprun AG, with ILF’s help, has been relying on sustainable energy for years. In addition to the photovoltaic systems on operations buildings in the Kitzsteinhorn ski area, the Grubbach small-scale power plant also produces its own power from meltwater. The first construction stage of this combined pumped storage and hydroelectric power plant, with two turbines, was put into operation in 2012 – and a third turbine has recently been added to provide electricity in summer and snow in winter.
The special feature of this autonomous power production is that when the lever is moved in autumn, water is pumped through the pipes from the large high-altitude reservoirs “Mooserboden” and “Wasserfallboden” directly into the snow-making systems in the Kitzsteinhorn ski area. This means that no additional storage reservoirs need to be created for snowmaking in the high alpine part of the Kitzsteinhorn ski area.
In spring, on the other hand, the meltwater from a large catchment area is collected in the Langwied catch basin and continuously fed, via a 2-km-long pipeline and over 460 m in altitude, to the power plant. Here, three turbines convert 300 L of water per second into electricity, which generates 1.2 million kWh of green electricity in a regular year. This amount corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of approx. 350 households.

How does a pumped storage plant work?
A PSP temporarily stores surplus energy in the form of potential energy (elevation potential energy) in a reservoir. The water is pumped into the storage reservoir by electrically driven pumps so that it can later be used to drive the turbines and generate electricity. Surplus electrical energy from the power grid is taken during periods of low demand and fed back into the grid at peak load. Essentially, there is a lower and upper basin between which water is moved up and down – the lower basin can either be an artificial storage reservoir, a natural lake or a watercourse. In the simplest case, electricity is either generated by operating the pumps in reverse (turbine mode) or by using separate turbines, for which a wide variety of designs and sizes come into question depending on the operating conditions.

Swissgrid has commissioned ILF, as part of the engineering consortium KiWa220 (@Suisseplan Bau, @Boess Gruppe), to plan and design the extension of the high-voltage line in the Zurich South area. In order to increase the security of electricity supply to the city of Zurich (CH) and the left side of Lake Zurich, the current line will be upgraded to 220 kilovolts (kV) and connected to the grid in the South.

In the first project section, the cable will be laid underground along the motorway. Subsequently, the cable will be pulled through the conduit blocks already in place in both tubes of the Uetliberg Tunnel. In the third project section, a new 2-km-long energy tunnel, with a diameter of approx. 4 m, will be driven using a tunnel boring machine.

ILF has been chosen by the Canadian Hydrogen Fuel Cell Association (CHFCA), on behalf of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), to conduct a survey and develop an evergreen database of existing and planned hydrogen production facilities in Canada, including those currently under construction.

Together with the CHFCA, our team developed a comprehensive survey that was distributed to companies with existing and planned hydrogen production facilities in Canada. The questionnaire gathered information amongst others about hydrogen production, distribution systems, technology and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS); all of which was then entered into the database.

Visit the CHFCA’s website to explore the database: https://www.chfca.ca/canadian-hydrogen-production-evergreen-database/.

One of ILF’s long-term projects – the Metro Warsaw project – has taken a great step forward: We are proud to announce that the conceptual design for the new M3 metro line in Warsaw is complete.

In this key project for the residents of the Polish capital, ILF is responsible for the pre-design works, including the conceptual design, determination of the impact zones of the metro facilities on adjacent buildings, and the hydrogeological and engineering-geological documentation. In addition, ILF has prepared the functional and user program as well as the technical specifications for the execution and approval of works.

The building permit for the Karolin Station on the M2 metro line – another project in which ILF is one of the key players – has also recently been received and the stations Ulrychów und Bemowo have since been opened.

To transmit wind power from the windy North to the South, SuedLink, a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line consisting of multiple underground cables, is to be built in Germany.
The SuedLink is approx. 700 km long and will be implemented by the two project developers TransnetBW GmbH and TenneT TSO GmbH, with two 2 GW connections each starting in Schleswig-Holstein and running via Baden-Württemberg to Bavaria.

The project developer TransnetBW GmbH has submitted the first permit application documents for the southernmost permit application section, E3, to the Federal Network Agency. ILF, as the regional engineering office, has assisted with the preparation of these documents. The Federal Network Agency has already confirmed the completeness of the documents and the process of making the documents available for public review has been initiated.

What’s special about permit application section E3 is that this section of the transmission line runs through the Südwestdeutsche Salzwerke AG’s mines. The special structure in the mines will be connected via two new shafts, which will be almost 200 m deep. With the initiation of the final phase of the approval procedure, the foundations for an early start to construction of the SuedLink in the Heilbronn region have now been laid.

In the North, ILF, as the responsible regional engineering office, has also contributed to the permit application documents for permit application section A2 – the first northern section of the transmission line – being submitted to the Federal Network Agency in due time by the project developer TenneT TSO GmbH. The particular challenge in this section was to integrate the requested alignment for the two underground cables into the design documents for the special structure ElbX, an approx. 5-km-long tunnel structure between Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony that runs under the River Elbe.

The Municipal Water and Sewerage Company commissioned ILF to prepare comprehensive design documentation for the final stage of the construction of the Vistula collector In Warsaw.

This largest transit and retention collector in Poland’s capital is expected to mitigate the negative effects of climate change on the city. Besides transporting wastewater, the new infrastructure facility will also temporarily store excess rainwater and therefore decrease the risk of flooding and reduce storm overflows into the Vistula river. The existing storm sewers as well as the sewer collectors to the Farysa facility and the pressure pipe from the Powiśle pumping station will be connected to the new collector. The collector, with a capacity of 50,000 m3 and base diameters from 1.2 m to 3.2 m, will be about 9.5 km long and will be constructed at a depth of 6 to 15 m below ground. For the construction of the collector, state-of-the-art trenchless microtunneling technology will be applied.

“ILF’s task is to prepare comprehensive design documentation for the third stage of construction of the Vistula collector – specifically, from the connection chamber with the Bielański collector to the Farysa facility, along with the pumping station and the necessary̨ associated infrastructure,” explains Marcin Przepiórka, Managing Director from ILF Poland.

The investment is part of a broader project co-financed by EU funds and implemented by the Municipal Water and Sewerage Company in Warsaw. Completion of the project documentation (construction design and detailed designs) is scheduled for late 2022.