Kilsaran, a major player in Ireland’s construction industry, has announced the launch of two new electric concrete trucks.
With zero emissions and reduced noise pollution, the two new Volvo FM trucks are the first of their kind in Ireland and the UK.
The electric vehicles will be based in Ringsend, Dublin and mark a significant step in the company’s dedication to environmentally responsible practices.
Ken Mulkerrins, Group Head of Innovation & Sustainability at Kilsaran, said the trucks have 5 batteries each and they have a range of about 300 kilometres per charge, depending on the weight that they are carrying.
“The electric trucks are extremely expensive, they are more than twice the price of their diesel combustion engine counter parts, but we are going to run a pilot for 12 months and we’re going to collate that data and then hopefully roll them out across other plants,” Mr Mulkerrins said.
With growing demand for housing and infrastructure, Kilsaran has to navigate construction requirements with environmental concerns.
The group manufactures and supplies ready-mix concrete, concrete blocks and other building materials. Cement is one of the most utilised material on Earth and its production accounts for as much as 7% of global CO2 emissions.
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Kilsaran runs a number of initiatives to reduce carbon emissions at the company.
Mr Mulkerrins said at Kilsaran’s dry mortar plant in Kildare, it used to burn diesel to dry sand, and it has retrospectively fitted the facility with LPG and lowered emissions by 45%.
Kilsaran has 300 trucks on the road and through driver training and investment in a new fleet, it has reduced its use of litres of diesel per tonne of material carried by 22% since 2017.
“If you take our road surfacing, we take the planings off the road and create new tarmac with it, so that cuts emissions by 15%,” he told Morning Ireland.
“We have a whole list of initiatives that we work on, as I say, there is no silver bullet. Our research and innovation team work Monday to Friday solely on research and innovation in our labs, working on initiatives to try and decarbonise what we have.
“Concrete is one of the most durable materials that you have out there. It has a life span of between 60 and 100 years. If we can cut the CO2 in that concrete to low levels, then we believe it is a viable option,” he said.