Cement-free retaining walls for solar park Branderwal
Zonnepark Branderwal is one of the first customers in the Netherlands to use an entirely cement-free retaining wall solution. Bosch Beton produced and placed this unique earth retention system on its former concrete factory site, which has now been transformed into an extremely innovative solar farm.
From factory site to solar farm
A series of the first fully cement-free retaining walls has been placed at the former Bosch Beton factory site in Kootwijkerbroek. These will be used to naturally incorporate the solar farm’s consumer substation/transformer within the farm’s green enclosure. The first cement-free concrete trials took place in the Bosch Beton laboratory at the former factory location in Kootwijkerbroek. Bosch Beton relocated to Barneveld in 2019 after which the former factory location was dedicated to sustainability and the energy transition. Over the past years, the former factory has been literally devoured: the old factory has been dismantled and the released concrete has been recycled. The latter released concrete granulate has recently been used to produce new retaining walls. This closes the circle.
Geopolymer concrete
The cement-free technology involves producing a so-called geopolymer concrete and has been developed to the point that it can now be used in the first projects. As we closely monitor the concrete’s structural long-term properties and quality characteristics, the development process takes time. Bosch Beton has developed a step-by-step plan for this and started delivering retaining walls using new concrete recipes early this year. L elements with heel were used to construct the earth retention system for Zonnepark Branderwal, with several examples of a so-called hybrid mixture being produced in addition to the cement-free one. The amount of cement used in the hybrid retailing wall mixture has been reduced by 60%.
Energy transition
Zonnepark Branderwal is currently under construction and will be operational by the end of 2023. The solar farm will soon provide 7,000 households with green electricity. The connection to Harselaar business park, and therefore to the Bosch Beton site, has also already been constructed. Energeion’s sustainable ambition of using cement-free concrete in this project has really paid off and can be considered a milestone. Zonnepark Branderwal is keen to make its green contribution to this. Zonnepark Branderwal is part of Energeion, which is also developing the production and storage of green electricity and hydrogen. Energeion is also helping to develop cleaner aviation, including through research into hydrogen-electric drones and helicopters.
Further information
If you would like to know more about this project or our customised retaining wall solutions for soil & garden, please feel free to contact our consultants.
Project in the picture
Similar projects
Retaining walls absorb height difference at villa
Retaining walls are multifunctional. Our creative client used them, among other things, for flower boxes at his new villa.
Retaining walls for new multi-functional sports park
Sports club Longa ’30 in Lichtenvoorde shares its sports field with other parties. This created the desire for a multifunctional sports park.
Bosch Beton is preferred supplier to rapid charging company, Fastned
Bosch Beton is one of the house suppliers for European fast-charging company Fastned to supply precast concrete foundations for fast-charging posts.