By Lynda Myer
The construction process of a district heating pipeline tunnel, which is beneath the River Elbe in Hamburg, has been started.
Benefiting a large diaphragm wall excavator for the first excavations of the starting shaft on the south bank of the Elbe, Implenia has begun the work in the current week, while the operation route of this excavator in the coming weeks will be down to a depth of 30m.
While Implenia is constructing diaphragm walls with 1.5m-thick for the start and target shafts, following this in order to dig a tubbing tunnel below the river, this company is due to commission a TBM with 1.16km length and a bore diameter of 4.55m. In the two shafts, access and operating facilities are being built for later operation.
The determined date for completion of this tunnel is the 2024/2025 heating period and is going to primarily transport waste heat from industrial processes in the south of Hamburg to the north of the city.
Displacing the coal-fired power plant in Wedel with predominantly climate-neutral heat, this project is a vital element in the proposed Hafen energy park on Dradenau. Hamburger Energiewerke GmbH says replacing the coal-fired power plant will make the biggest single contribution to Hamburg achieving its CO2 emissions targets.
