State Secretary Van Weyenberg pays working visit

On Monday, Sept. 20, the State Secretary of Infrastructure and Water Management, Steven Van Weyenberg paid a working visit to Staad B.V. During the visit, Pieter Staadegaard, Managing Director of Staad B.V., among others, taught the State Secretary his insights into the market in the field of emission-free machines.

"Very valuable."

After the interview, the state secretary expressed his impression of the company and the stories he heard. Van Weyenberg: "Visits like these help me make sure that the policy we work out is as close to reality as possible. That is very valuable. Ultimately, I want the financial support we deploy to really help entrepreneurs electrify excavators and other construction machinery. Experience from the industry is a huge help in that regard. So many thanks!"

Staad's subsidiary is called Electric Construction Equipment and was established in January 2020 to focus entirely on achieving a zero-emission construction site, Electric Construction Equipment has begun electrification of excavators. The state secretary was impressed by the sustainable developments already in place and noted with great interest that most electric excavators are currently exported by Electric Construction Equipment to other European countries. This should change. New subsidies that should take effect next year will make it more manageable for entrepreneurs to make the move to an electric excavator. The Dutch market can be a leader in the electrification of construction equipment, but the government has to take the right steps so that every entrepreneur has access to it.

Electric Construction Equipment's ambitions are therefore to continue to take the steps toward a zero-emission construction site where this becomes more accessible to everyone. At present, the excavators are still quite expensive due to lack of demand. ''When we can scale up, the costs for our customers can also come down,'' Pieter Staadegaard said. In some other European countries such as Scandinavia, for example, the right steps have already been taken and there you see rapid developments on the construction site. The subsidy schemes there mean that as a medium or small business you can get up to 50% of the purchase value back via a subsidy pot. The SEB (Clean and Emission Free Building) subsidy scheme is expected to start in the Netherlands in early 2020. An IenW official informs that it is now being shaped. The idea is that in the Netherlands a subsidy scheme will ensure that entrepreneurs are supported in the purchase of emission-free construction equipment. Good news! The Clean and Emission-Free Construction program was established partly at the request of De Groene Koers. It concerns a cooperation of the ministries IenW, BZK and EZK with the market and co-governments with which the policy goals of the Climate Agreement, Clean Air Agreement and the Approach to Nitrogen for mobile tools and construction logistics are bundled.
Learn more: www.opwegnaarseb.nl

Working visit thanks to the Green Course

Equipment suppliers play a key role in making equipment more sustainable on the way to a zero-emission construction site. Through sustainable machine innovation, the supplying sector takes its responsibility in promoting a healthy living environment and a better environment. Inspiring frontrunners who develop emission-free and low-emission machines are an example for others to work together for a sustainable sector. That is why De Groene Koers supports companies like Staad that are working concretely to make equipment more sustainable. This visit to Staad came about partly thanks to De Groene Koers. De Groene Koers is the sustainable sector initiative of BMWT, Bouwend Nederland, CUMELA and VHG, which promotes sustainable equipment by connecting parties, sharing knowledge and promoting inspiring examples.
Learn more www.degroenekoers.nl  

Importance role of government, client and SMEs

The state secretary also met two SME entrepreneurs at Staad, Chris Ploegmakers (Ploegam) and Jaap Veldhuizen (Cumela board member) who are eager to invest in electric equipment. They emphasized that 70% of the machine owners are SME entrepreneurs. So very relevant discussion partners for both government and clients. Jaap Veldhuizen simply calculated that the ambition of the climate agreement, to reduce 0.4 Mega tons of CO2 by 2030, corresponds to a reduction of 125 million liters of diesel. On the basis of an average diesel consumption of 7500 liters per machine per year, more than 15000 machines 100% must then operate emission-free in 2030.Against the background that the current development has only just begun and there is no serial production yet makes a firm incentive package while maintaining a level playing field necessary. Moreover, clients are sometimes even more ambitious with their procurement policies than government policies. Alignment with the transition paths being worked on as part of Clean and Emission-Free Construction, as well as enforcement of Emvi promises, are therefore important, said the cumula board member.

"Very valuable."

After the interview, the state secretary expressed that he was impressed with the company Electric Construction Equipment and the stories he heard. Van Weyenberg: "Visits like these help me ensure that policies we develop are as closely in line with practice as possible. That is very valuable. Ultimately, I want the financial support we deploy to really help entrepreneurs electrify excavators and other construction equipment. Experience from the industry is of tremendous help in that regard. So many thanks!"