Our ambition is for Boskalis onshore projects in the Netherlands to be climate neutral by 2030. To help realize this goal, in 2025 we established our in-house Energy Management team which oversees a range of low-emission energy sources and charging options for our electric and hybrid equipment and helps ensure their availability on projects. In recent years, Boskalis has invested in low-emission, electrified plant equipment such as excavators, asphalt pavers and rollers, and earthmoving trucks.
“At Boskalis, investing in electric or hybrid equipment for our onshore fleet is crucial, but it is only one half of the story when it comes to meeting our climate ambitions,” explains Energy Manager Kees Koejemans. “The other half of the challenge lies in ensuring the availability of energy and the right charging infrastructure to operate that equipment in numerous locations across the Netherlands.”
The effective use of our low-emission equipment is ensured through the deployment of proprietary infrastructure that includes two 1,200-kilowatthour mobile battery containers and numerous rechargeable
batteries that can be swapped in and out of plant equipment, such as electric excavators. The battery containers are transported to project sites and function as mobile charging stations, allowing us to operate
equipment ‘off grid’ and reduce our carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions.
Boskalis also operates a network of fixed charging hubs that supply energy to our electric fleet, as well as the battery containers. Of these facilities, those in Vlaardingen, Capelle aan den IJssel, and Amsterdam are powered entirely by solar energy, ensuring that any equipment using them as a primary energy source operates on 100% green electricity.
For larger or more remote projects where our mobile charging infrastructure alone is not sufficient, the Energy Management team works with our clients and investigates tailored charging solutions that
can be developed on site. We are currently executing a multi-year dike reinforcement project along a section of the River Maas in North Brabant where a charging station has been installed on site that sources renewable electricity from a nearby solar facility owned by the client. A biogas generator is also being used to charge equipment such as excavators and wheel loaders that cannot access the charging station. Separately, Boskalis’ own solar panels, together with a mobile battery, provide energy for the onsite office and the
charging of staff’s electric vehicles. Through investment in our own charging equipment, detailed
logistical planning and collaboration with our clients, we are able to deliver low-emission infrastructure projects across the Netherlands.
