News

To reduce the amount of through traffic in the Swiss munici­pality of Näfels, a bypass is planned to the North. ILF, as part of the IG Niederberg, and together with B+S, is involved in the design works for the bypass tunnel.

When complete, the 2.8‑km-long Näfels bypass will consist of a 700-m-long section of open road in the North, the 1.8‑km-long Niederberg Tunnel and a 300-m-long section in the South with a new junction connecting the bypass to the existing cantonal road.

ILF and its partner are respon­sible for the construction design and detailed design of the two-lane Niederberg Tunnel, which shall be operated as a two-way traffic tunnel. We would like to thank ASTRA, the Swiss Federal Roads Office, for the contract and are very much looking forward to carrying out this exciting task.

The Point Tupper Green Hydrogen/Ammonia Project is consi­dered one of the most advanced projects for the large-scale production of green ammonia. The aim of the project is to produce certified green hydrogen and ammonia to meet increased global demand. This project also makes it possible to reduce the amount of CO₂ emissions compared to the amount emitted from conven­tional ammonia production processes.
EverWind Fuels plans to deliver certified green hydrogen to German offtakers by 2025. Supplying the German market with green hydrogen is an important goal of the historic hydrogen alliance between Canada and Germany. The agreement was signed in August 2022 and contri­butes to achieving climate targets.

ILF is pleased to be able to support EverWind Fuels in this pioneering project as a Project Management Consultant (PMC).
​​​​​​​We will also lend technical support to EverWind Fuels and perform the Design Review for the EPC Contractor.

For the initial phase of green hydrogen and green ammonia production (200,000 tonnes per year), EverWind has received environ­mental approval from the Canadian Ministry of Environment and Climate Change for their project, with an investment volume of more than USD 1 billion.
Construction of the hydrogen and ammonia production plant is planned to commence in 2023, on an indus­trial site at Point Tupper in Nova Scotia, Canada. The jetty at the existing EverWind Fuels’ tank farm will be used to load the ammonia onto ships.
In the first phase, certified green electricity will be used. This electricity will mainly come from newly installed regional wind farms and will be trans­ported via the public grid. In a second phase, the facility will be signi­fi­cantly expanded and for this purpose, separate 2GW wind farms will be developed.

Red Sea Global, the developer of the world’s most ambitious regene­rative tourism desti­na­tions, has appointed ILF as an Independent Engineer for the imple­men­tation phase of the primary utility system currently being developed by a consortium led by ACWA Power.
The project includes the provision of renewable power, potable water, waste­water treatment, district cooling and solid waste treatment for 16 hotels, an inter­na­tional airport, and infra­st­ructure that will form Phase One of The Red Sea desti­nation in Saudi Arabia.

Key Facts: 

• Solar PV: 340 MWac
• BESS: 1,200 MWh
• Internal Combustion Engine: 108.98 MW
• SWRO: 32,500 m³/day
• Waste­water: 18,300 m³/day
• District Cooling: 32,500 RT
• Solid Waste Management: 11,775 T/year

ILF already acted as a technical advisor during the tendering stage of the PPP project, which resulted in a Utilities Concession Agreement (UCA) worth roughly USD 1.5 billion.
The extension of ILF’s invol­vement in this landmark develo­pment is seen as both an expression of confi­dence as well as a confir­mation of the call for ILF to continue to deliver Engineering Excel­lence with ILF’s integrated team from its offices in Saudi Arabia, Austria, Germany and Poland.

A large part of Northern Germany’s wind energy potential cannot currently be used due to bottlenecks in the power grid.
The aim is to be able to utilize this unused wind energy potential in the future by converting it into green hydrogen with the help of power-to-gas facilities.
Trans­porting gaseous hydrogen in pipelines has clear advan­tages – techni­cally, econo­mi­cally and ecolo­gi­cally – in compa­rison to other transport options.

In this context, HyPerLink, Gasunie’s envisaged appro­xi­mately 66-km-long hydrogen network, and a key part the future European hydrogen network, shall provide an efficient link between the Nether­lands, Germany and Denmark. A parti­cu­larity of this project is that the HyPerLink will be developed mainly by converting already existing natural gas infra­st­ructure into hydrogen infra­st­ructure with a capacity of up to 7.2 GW. ILF has been commis­sioned by Gasunie for the “Project design and project management for the modifi­cation of existing pipeline infra­st­ructure in HyPerLink Phase I and Phase II”.

This gives ILF the oppor­tunity to parti­cipate in one of the European hydrogen industry’s light­house projects.
The project for which an appli­cation for early commen­cement of measures has been submitted, is awaiting notifi­cation from the IPCEI program.

ILF has committed itself to becoming ‘Net Zero’ by 2040.

Becoming ‘Net Zero’ first and foremost means reducing, reducing and (once again!) reducing emissions. In line with the Science Based Target Initiative, we are following the pathway towards achieving net zero emissions by making ambitious efforts to reduce our overall green­house gas emissions by at least 90% by 2040, and by offsetting a maximum of 10% of our remaining, unavo­idable emissions.

How will ILF become ‘Net Zero’ by 2040? 

Having set ourselves near-term targets for 2030 and committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2040, it is now time to take concrete steps to reach this ambitious goal. The Sustaina­bility Team at ILF has therefore organized for a number of Net Zero workshops to be held, where colleagues from all levels of the ILF hierarchy will be able to share their ideas and together formulate specific goals and measures to be taken at their ILF location. In view of our current carbon footprint, special attention will be given to ILF’s “top three” emission sources: Business Travel by Aircraft, Business Travel in Company Vehicles and Employee Commuting.

At ILF, we know that achieving net zero emissions by 2040 in line with the Science Based Targets Initiative is an ambitious goal, but we are ready and willing to do whatever it takes to reach this goal!

The Glenmuckloch Energy Park (GB-SCT) project entails the conversion of a disused open-cast coal mine into a renewable energy hub. This Energy Park will involve the develo­pment of both a 210 MW Pumped Hydroelectric Energy Storage (PHES) plant and a 33.6 MW wind farm on the same site.

During its previous operation, the Glenmuckloch mine was contri­buting to the green­house gas emissions associated with coal-powered energy generation. The envisaged Glenmuckloch Energy Park will serve the purpose of actively reversing these impacts, by contri­buting to the transition from thermal to renewable energy generation.

The former mining opera­tions at Glenmuckloch created a signi­ficant void in the ground, which is to be used as the lower reservoir. Appro­xi­mately 220 m above the lower reservoir, a new turkey’s nest reservoir will be constructed. The two reser­voirs will be connected by an above-ground steel penstock entering a shaft power­house located adjacent to the lower reservoir. The PHES will be able to provide appro­xi­mately 1,600 MWh of renewable energy per cycle.

As part of the decom­mis­sioning process for the mine, the entire Glenmuckloch area will need to be rehabi­li­tated. Instead of allowing the mine to become a dormant asset, the conversion of the site into a renewable energy hub will not only provide energy security for the region, but will also help to create jobs for the local communities.

ILF, together with the lead partner Ove Arup & Partners Limited (Arup), has been appointed as the Owner’s Engineer for the develo­pment of this project. Arup will oversee the full develo­pment of the wind farm project components, while ILF has been engaged as a specialist sub-consultant to oversee the develo­pment of the PHES project components. The project is being financed by the Foresight Group (Foresight), a sustaina­bility-led alter­native assets and SME investment manager.

The European Union has declared that hydrogen – and its deriva­tives, such as ammonia and methanol – are key to achieving the Union’s legally binding obliga­tions to reduce net green­house gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels) and to become climate neutral by 2050.

As Europe is unable to produce suffi­cient quantities of hydrogen for its own needs, imports from overseas are currently the subject of many detailed investigations.

Late last year, political leaders from Germany and Canada entered into a hydrogen alliance, based on the idea of exporting clean hydrogen to the EU in order to help reduce the need for natural gas imports. Shortly after the alliance was formed, ILF began working on two techno-economic studies on Canada’s readiness to transport hydrogen products by sea from Eastern Canada to Europe.
ILF’s invol­vement in these studies is an example of one of the contri­bu­tions that ILF is making towards a sustainable future for our planet.

Within the scope of work for the new twin-track Feeder Line North of the Brenner Base Tunnel, DB Netz AG has commis­sioned ILF Consulting Engineers, as part of an engineering consortium with two other partners, to carry out the route design and project planning works for the preli­minary design of the Grafing–Ostermünchen (GER) section.

This section forms part of the Feeder Line North of the Brenner Base Tunnel which is currently under construction, and will be an integral part of the Scandinavian–Mediterrranean Corridor (Scan–Med Corridor) from Finland to Malta. This corridor is also the most important North–South Railway Link in Europe. The approx. 15-km-long section comprises the northernmost part of this project. In addition to open-track sections, associated traffic infra­st­ructure, bridges and tunnels are also planned.

The Building Infor­mation Modelling (BIM) method is being used during the design which also includes an option for further design phases (conceptual design, permit appli­cation design and tender design).

Having already been involved in the previous design phase for this section (namely the route selection procedure), ILF has detailed knowledge of the local site condi­tions and can therefore support this complex project in the further design phases.

With less than 100 m³ of renewable water resources per capita and per year, Jordan is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world.
The existing water resources are already heavily overex­ploited and are rapidly being depleted as a result of supplying a growing population. The water sector in Jordan is charac­te­rized by high water losses and low cost coverage.

To tackle the challenges associated with water supply in Jordan, the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) has commis­sioned a joint venture, consisting of ILF and Engicon, with the project “Energy Efficiency in the Water Sector II in Jordan”. The focus of this project is on reducing the amount of non-revenue water, such as leakages or illegal connec­tions, as well as reducing the carbon footprint of the water sector in general.

A multi-pronged approach has been chosen to make every drop count. Five selected pumping stations will be rehabi­li­tated, mainly by replacing ineffi­cient equipment such as pumps, fittings and valves. To ensure a more sustainable operation of the water network, an additional booster pumping station will be constructed. Furthermore, the water network itself will undergo several changes in order to make the best use of the mountainous terrain.

Measures which increase energy efficiency in the water sector are both environ­mentally and econo­mi­cally beneficial for all parties involved.

The rehabi­li­tation of the pumping stations and the restruc­turing of the water supply network are projected to save more than 9,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually.

Energy demand can be lowered by appro­xi­mately 50%, and, in addition, up to 20% of physical water losses are expected to be eliminated.

Phase 1 of the construction works has recently started and is expected to be completed in 2025. Phase 2 is currently out to tender.

ILF has won the contract for project management, develo­pment and design, including management of all environ­mental issues, for the Linz Urban Railway, Austria.

The metro­po­litan area of Linz (in the province of Upper Austria) has a number of hospitals, univer­sities, cultural and adminis­trative facilities and offers more jobs than there are inhabi­tants (> 200,000). As a result, Linz has been struggling with commuter traffic for a long time.

A high-quality alter­native to private transport is therefore needed and a new public transport solution is being developed. The key objec­tives are to provide high-quality transport for passengers, fast travel times, direct connec­tions to high-level insti­tu­tions and links to the existing infra­st­ructure: the Linz Urban Railway.

ILF was commis­sioned by Schiene OÖ GmbH, together with a local partner in Linz, to prepare the documents for the preli­minary design of all the technical and environ­mental aspects and to clarify the necessary legal procee­dings for all sections of the Linz Urban Railway. Planning for the approval procedure and the environ­mental impact assessment for the urban railway’s connection to the university is an optional part of the contract.

NZSki, one of New Zealand’s ski field operators, plans to increase the capacity of its ski area ”The Remar­kables” near Queenstown from its current capacity of approx. 3,500 skiers to a future capacity of approx. 7,500 skiers. For the proposed plans to become reality, the neigh­boring bowl, the Doolans Basin, shall be developed into a ski area. To achieve this, various options will be inves­ti­gated in a masterplan and a develo­pment strategy will subse­quently be formulated.

ILF Consulting Engineers has been entrusted with preparing this masterplan which covers slopes, ropeways, snow-making systems, ski tunnels, parking facilities, mountain restau­rants, maintenance and service infra­st­ructure as well as connec­tions to the existing ski area. The masterplan will also encompass all the construction measures required to operate the ski resort following the increase in capacity.

ILF Consulting Engineers has set another histo­rical milestone in its 50+ years of engineering excel­lence. We are extremely proud to have been appointed as the consultant of choice for the pre-develo­pment studies for three multi-gigawatt solar PV parks. These parks, with an installed capacity of up to 30 GWp, will by far be the world’s largest renewable energy parks in terms of installed capacity.

ILF will provide world-class engineering services, accom­panying the parks’ develo­pment up to the point where the parks can be tendered on an independent power producer (IPP) basis.

The pre-develo­pment studies shall include perfor­mance of the following tasks:

• a preli­minary site assessment
• prepa­ration of a master plan
• environ­mental baseline surveys
• an environ­mental and social impact assessment (ESIA)
• the permit appli­cation procedure
• various studies, including geotech­nical, hydro­lo­gical, glint/glare and corrosion studies
• an energy yield assessment
• technology selection
• CAPEX/OPEX estimation
• advanced design of the parks

The parks are among the most ambitious and presti­gious develo­p­ments taking place in the world in terms of sustaina­bility, innovation and cutting edge technology, and are a key puzzle piece in Saudi Arabia’s strategy to become a world champion in renewable energy by 2030. This fits perfectly with the ILF Group’s commitment to climate protection and its vision of improving the quality of life around the globe.

Digita­liz­ation poses new challenges to be faced in road tunnels – challenges which require inter­di­sci­plinary action.

Coordi­nated by the Federal Highway Research Institute (“Bundes­an­stalt für Straßen­wesen” GER) and ILF, the bilateral research project Artificial Intel­li­gence for Impro­vement of Safety of Tunnels and Tunnel Control Centers (“KITT”) is developing innovative solutions. By using data from Coope­rative Intel­ligent Transport Systems (C‑ITS) as well as Artificial Intel­li­gence (AI), hazardous situa­tions in tunnels, or anomalies in IT security, can be recognized more quickly and reliably.

ILF is proud to be able to apply its extensive experience of performing risk analyses in road tunnels and its own (self-developed) tunnel risk model TuRisMo to improve existing methods by using C‑ITS technology.
The research project is being funded by the Security Research Funding Program (“KIRAS”) set up by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism (“BMLRT”) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (“BMBF”) as part of the call for Artificial Intel­li­gence in Civil Security Research (“Künst­liche Intel­ligenz in der zivilen Sicherheitsforschung”).

As part of a joint venture (JV), ILF has been awarded the contract for the prepa­ration of tender documents for the Eastern Section of the 2nd S‑Bahn Main Line in Munich.

This section of the line comprises approx. 3.4 km of tunnels, one under­ground halt and several civil engineering struc­tures. ILF has also been involved in the design of the Western Section of the line since 2017. As part of different JVs, ILF was commis­sioned with the final design and the permit appli­cation design services for the overall project, the prepa­ration of tender documents and construction design services for two under­ground halts.

The overall project, with a line length of approx. 10 km, contains a tunnel section with a length of approx. 7 km and three under­ground halts (with lengths between 230 m and 250 m, and a depth of approx. 45 m). The tunnels – two tunnels and one emergency tunnel – will be driven mainly by TBMs. The under­ground halts are being constructed using the cut-and-cover method, and for the platform tunnels, the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) is being used.

The Deutsche Bahn has taken the decision to extend the under­ground section of the line under the city center (by adding a new line beneath the existing one) because the S‑Bahn Main Line in Munich was no longer able to handle today’s passenger numbers.

ILF is pleased to be able to present the design for the tunnel portals with the widest span in the company’s more than 55-year history.
As the leading partner of a planning consortium, ILF, on behalf of ASFINAG, has been working on the detailed design for the tunnel struc­tures within phase 1 of the A26 motorway construction project near Linz.

The motorway tunnel constructed in phase 1 of the project has four lanes in some sections and a total length of 2.4 km, including access and exit ramps. The two main portals of the tunnel deserve special attention: The portals of the two main carri­a­geways, which shall directly adjoin the fourth Danube bridge on both sides, span a width of about 25 m and have a shotcrete thickness of only 60 cm. The operating rooms are located directly below these main portals.

Overcoming the challenge of designing and finally realizing tunnel portals of these dimen­sions has only been possible thanks to ILF’s partnership with ASFINAG and the joint venture ARGE A26 that is respon­sible for executing the project.

Thank you for the excellent cooperation!

ILF has been commis­sioned as part of an engineering consortium (INGE Axe Bauleitung) for the construction super­vision for the new Axenstrasse road project. The project is expected to run until the end of 2033.

The Axenstrasse road was built between 1861 and 1865 and is located in Central Switz­erland. The road has been damaged several times by rockfalls and mudslides, which is why a new Axenstrasse road is now being built.

ILF has commenced its construction super­vision work at the Gumpisch temporary bridge. The temporary bridge will be constructed in an area sensitive to rockfalls and will allow traffic to be diverted from the Axenstrasse road thus facili­tating further construction works. Construction of both the major tunnel construction lots is due to start in 2025. The construction site from Ingenbohl to Gumpisch stretches over a length of approx. 8 km. In the tunnel-driving phase, up to six tunnel drives (main and counter drives) are to be super­vised in parallel. Also in the construction phase for the entire project, several construction sites for lining works are to be super­vised in parallel.

In order to deal with the natural hazards posing a threat to the availa­bility of the Axenstrasse road, an early warning system has been intro­duced and contri­butes to greater safety during construction works. Work on the Gumpisch temporary bridge is taking place whilst there is ongoing traffic on the Axenstrasse road. Thanks to the good coope­ration with the road operator AfBN, the client and the security firm that are helping to control the adjacent traffic, the work and traffic have to date been accident-free.

The Baltic Pipe has recently started trans­porting gas to markets in Denmark, Sweden and Poland, as well as to neigh­boring markets. ILF is proud to have contri­buted to the timely start of operation for this unusually complex construction project.

The inter­con­nector between Poland and Denmark can transport gas in both direc­tions, which not only opens up a new supply route for the transport of natural gas from the Norwegian sea, but also leads to a diver­si­fi­cation of gas supply sources for many countries in the Baltic Sea region and in Central and Eastern Europe. Around 2.4 bn m³ of gas are expected to be trans­ported by the Baltic Pipe per year over the next ten years.

ILF has supported the clients, Energienet and Ramboll, with numerous engineering services for the Jutland–Funen section. These included, among others, project management, Owner’s Engineering services, detailed design/construction design, tendering and construction supervision.

Learn more here:   The project — Baltic Pipe Project (baltic-pipe.eu)

ILF and PGNiG Termika S.A. have signed a contract for the prepa­ration of a feasi­bility study for the creation of an electrical connection between the Siekierki CHP plant and the Piaseczno–Mory trans­mission line in Poland.

The study shall inves­tigate the feasi­bility of constructing a new 220 kV double-circuit line running from a new 220 kV switchyard to a cut in the 220 kV Piaseczno–Mory line, as well as a line to connect a new gas/steam unit to this switchyard. As part of the study, three different switchyard location options and several variants shall be presented. ILF will also give a recom­men­dation on the optimal solution, taking all relevant planning, techno­lo­gical, social and environ­mental aspects into consideration.

“We always consider the impact on local residents and the environment in our work. We are focused on minimizing the impact on housing develo­p­ments and valuable natural areas. In terms of planning for the timing and the amount of investment required in this project, we aim to make good use of existing infra­st­ructure corridors from other trans­mission line facilities, and will consider different techno­lo­gical options – namely overhead lines and cable lines, as well as an option combining these two technologies.”
Rafal Blankiewicz, Managing Director of ILF Poland.

Providing efficient solutions for using existing snow-making infra­st­ructure to additio­nally produce and store energy is also part of ILF’s portfolio – and exactly this is what has been done during one of our projects in the Kitzsteinhorn ski area (AUT).

The Gletscher­bahnen Kaprun AG, with ILF’s help, has been relying on sustainable energy for years. In addition to the photo­voltaic systems on opera­tions buildings in the Kitzsteinhorn ski area, the Grubbach small-scale power plant also produces its own power from meltwater. The first construction stage of this combined pumped storage and hydroelectric power plant, with two turbines, was put into operation in 2012 – and a third turbine has recently been added to provide electricity in summer and snow in winter.
The special feature of this autonomous power production is that when the lever is moved in autumn, water is pumped through the pipes from the large high-altitude reser­voirs „Mooser­boden” and „Wasser­fall­boden” directly into the snow-making systems in the Kitzsteinhorn ski area. This means that no additional storage reser­voirs need to be created for snowmaking in the high alpine part of the Kitzsteinhorn ski area.
In spring, on the other hand, the meltwater from a large catchment area is collected in the Langwied catch basin and conti­nuously fed, via a 2‑km-long pipeline and over 460 m in altitude, to the power plant. Here, three turbines convert 300 L of water per second into electricity, which generates 1.2 million kWh of green electricity in a regular year. This amount corre­sponds to the annual electricity consumption of approx. 350 households.

How does a pumped storage plant work?
A PSP temporarily stores surplus energy in the form of potential energy (elevation potential energy) in a reservoir. The water is pumped into the storage reservoir by electri­cally driven pumps so that it can later be used to drive the turbines and generate electricity. Surplus electrical energy from the power grid is taken during periods of low demand and fed back into the grid at peak load. Essen­tially, there is a lower and upper basin between which water is moved up and down – the lower basin can either be an artificial storage reservoir, a natural lake or a water­course. In the simplest case, electricity is either generated by operating the pumps in reverse (turbine mode) or by using separate turbines, for which a wide variety of designs and sizes come into question depending on the operating conditions.

Swissgrid has commis­sioned ILF, as part of the engineering consortium KiWa220 (@Suisseplan Bau, @Boess Gruppe), to plan and design the extension of the high-voltage line in the Zurich South area. In order to increase the security of electricity supply to the city of Zurich (CH) and the left side of Lake Zurich, the current line will be upgraded to 220 kilovolts (kV) and connected to the grid in the South.

In the first project section, the cable will be laid under­ground along the motorway. Subse­quently, the cable will be pulled through the conduit blocks already in place in both tubes of the Uetliberg Tunnel. In the third project section, a new 2‑km-long energy tunnel, with a diameter of approx. 4 m, will be driven using a tunnel boring machine.

ILF has been chosen by the Canadian Hydrogen Fuel Cell Association (CHFCA), on behalf of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), to conduct a survey and develop an evergreen database of existing and planned hydrogen production facilities in Canada, including those currently under construction.

Together with the CHFCA, our team developed a compre­hensive survey that was distri­buted to companies with existing and planned hydrogen production facilities in Canada. The questi­onnaire gathered infor­mation amongst others about hydrogen production, distri­bution systems, technology and carbon capture, utiliz­ation and storage (CCUS); all of which was then entered into the database.

Visit the CHFCA’s website to explore the database: https://www.chfca.ca/canadian-hydrogen-production-evergreen-database/.

One of ILF’s long-term projects – the Metro Warsaw project – has taken a great step forward: We are proud to announce that the conceptual design for the new M3 metro line in Warsaw is complete.

In this key project for the residents of the Polish capital, ILF is respon­sible for the pre-design works, including the conceptual design, deter­mi­nation of the impact zones of the metro facilities on adjacent buildings, and the hydro­geo­lo­gical and engineering-geolo­gical documen­tation. In addition, ILF has prepared the functional and user program as well as the technical speci­fi­ca­tions for the execution and approval of works.

The building permit for the Karolin Station on the M2 metro line – another project in which ILF is one of the key players – has also recently been received and the stations Ulrychów und Bemowo have since been opened.

To transmit wind power from the windy North to the South, SuedLink, a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) trans­mission line consisting of multiple under­ground cables, is to be built in Germany.
The SuedLink is approx. 700 km long and will be imple­mented by the two project developers Trans­netBW GmbH and TenneT TSO GmbH, with two 2 GW connec­tions each starting in Schleswig-Holstein and running via Baden-Württemberg to Bavaria.

The project developer Trans­netBW GmbH has submitted the first permit appli­cation documents for the southernmost permit appli­cation section, E3, to the Federal Network Agency. ILF, as the regional engineering office, has assisted with the prepa­ration of these documents. The Federal Network Agency has already confirmed the comple­teness of the documents and the process of making the documents available for public review has been initiated.

What’s special about permit appli­cation section E3 is that this section of the trans­mission line runs through the Südwest­deutsche Salzwerke AG’s mines. The special structure in the mines will be connected via two new shafts, which will be almost 200 m deep. With the initiation of the final phase of the approval procedure, the founda­tions for an early start to construction of the SuedLink in the Heilbronn region have now been laid.

In the North, ILF, as the respon­sible regional engineering office, has also contri­buted to the permit appli­cation documents for permit appli­cation section A2 – the first northern section of the trans­mission line – being submitted to the Federal Network Agency in due time by the project developer TenneT TSO GmbH. The parti­cular challenge in this section was to integrate the requested alignment for the two under­ground cables into the design documents for the special structure ElbX, an approx. 5‑km-long tunnel structure between Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony that runs under the River Elbe.

The Municipal Water and Sewerage Company commis­sioned ILF to prepare compre­hensive design documen­tation for the final stage of the construction of the Vistula collector In Warsaw.

This largest transit and retention collector in Poland’s capital is expected to mitigate the negative effects of climate change on the city. Besides trans­porting waste­water, the new infra­st­ructure facility will also temporarily store excess rainwater and therefore decrease the risk of flooding and reduce storm overflows into the Vistula river. The existing storm sewers as well as the sewer collectors to the Farysa facility and the pressure pipe from the Powiśle pumping station will be connected to the new collector. The collector, with a capacity of 50,000 m³ and base diameters from 1.2 m to 3.2 m, will be about 9.5 km long and will be constructed at a depth of 6 to 15 m below ground. For the construction of the collector, state-of-the-art trenchless micro­tun­neling technology will be applied.

“ILF’s task is to prepare compre­hensive design documen­tation for the third stage of construction of the Vistula collector – speci­fi­cally, from the connection chamber with the Bielański collector to the Farysa facility, along with the pumping station and the necessary̨ associated infra­st­ructure,” explains Marcin Przepiórka, Managing Director from ILF Poland.

The investment is part of a broader project co-financed by EU funds and imple­mented by the Municipal Water and Sewerage Company in Warsaw. Completion of the project documen­tation (construction design and detailed designs) is scheduled for late 2022.

ILF is involved in the construction of the largest wind farm in the Polish waters of the Baltic Sea – OWF Baltica 2 and OWF Baltica 3. The project is carried out by PGE Baltica together with Ørsted under the Offshore Program.

The Baltica‑2 OWF will have a capacity of up to 1,498 MW; the Baltica 3 OWF a capacity of up to 1,045 MW. The works are going on and the planned start of green energy production is 2026 (Baltica 3) and 2027 (Baltica 2). The lifetime of the wind farm is expected to be around 30 years.

ILF is respon­sible, among others, for the feasi­bility study, building permit design and obtaining a building permit for the Baltica 3 and Baltica 2 Offshore Wind Farms grid connections.

As part of an energy research project, ILF has carried out a specific technical, economic and ecolo­gical evaluation of an innovative EDCSproof energy concept for Wiesbauer, an Austrian sausage producer. EDCSproof stands for “Energy Demand Control System – Process Optimiz­ation For indus­trial low-tempe­rature systems” and is a colla­bo­rative research project led by the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and involving eight scien­tific and indus­trial partners.

The primary goal is to develop an online control concept for indus­trial energy supply systems. This concept shall support the integration of renewables through the use of energy storage, create “flexible consumers” for electric grids, increase efficiency through optimal control of the overall system, and utilize waste heat by using high-tempe­rature heat pumps (<150°C). Hence, it is a concept for decar­bo­niz­ation which recognizes the possi­bi­lities of digitalization.

The evaluation carried out by ILF included an investment calcu­lation based on possible instal­lation locations and the integration of the respective components in the power supply system taking into account the route of the existing piping, spatial condi­tions and other project parameters. ILF compared the EDCSproof energy concept with Wiesbauer’s existing energy concept (CO₂ savings, reduction of primary energy factor, cost reduction, etc.) and detected an energy and production cost saving potential.

Please see our White Paper for more details, contact persons and additional infor­mation about energy efficiency (only available in German): https://www.ilf.com/de/whitepaper-eeff/

As part of the ongoing Vestfold­banen railway upgrade scheme, the state-owned Norwegian railway infra­st­ructure company Bane NOR is constructing 10 km of new double-track railway between Drammen and Kobbervikdalen.

In 2018, ILF was hired by the Norwegian contractor Veidekke Entre­prenør AS as the designer of the most techni­cally challenging section of this project: a 290 m long tunnel mined in difficult geology below the ground­water table – the Soil Tunnel. ILF prepared the tender design, supported Veidekke during the Compe­titive Dialogue compe­tition, and developed the conceptual design as well as the detailed design of the soil tunnel. This includes a BIM model that is integrated into a combined model of all of the works within the contract.
ILF staff from our offices in Austria and Norway attended the breakthrough ceremony for the Soil tunnel top heading together with more than 200 other guests.

ILF is proud to be part of such a remar­kable and presti­gious project.

ILF is respon­sible for providing EPCM services for Synthos’ project to expand the production capacity for InVento products. The EPCM services which ILF is providing include the design, bidding and procu­rement processes and construction management for the project. ILF’s tasks also include the creation of a 3D model of the project for all phases and disciplines.

Rafał Blankiewicz, Managing Director of ILF Consulting Engineers Polska, on EPCM projects: “Our company has experience in managing invest­ments in the EPCM model. We success­fully completed our first project using this formula in Poland between 2007 and 2010, at a time when the model was still quite unknown.”

ILF has completed the building permit design for the construction of the second production line at Synthos and has obtained the building permit. In the near future, ILF will recommend the contractors for the individual purchase packages and will begin the process of taking over the construction site. The new production line is scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2023.

***
InVento is an ecolo­gical product used in thermal insulation, manufac­tured using an ecolo­gical geopo­lymer additive which acts as a factor reducing the heat transfer coeffi­cient and thus improving the thermal insulation properties of final building products. InVento products are charac­te­rized by full recyc­la­bility and contain 30% recycled content coming from post-consumer waste in their formula.

SparkS­pread (formerly Inframation), a global platform providing business intel­li­gence on transac­tions worldwide, has ranked ILF among the Top 10 Technical Transaction Advisors in the energy, environment, power and transport sectors (September 2022). In the overall compa­rison of Technical Transaction Advisors, ILF is also ranked 12th.

We would like to thank our numerous clients for the confi­dence they place in us!
We look forward to conti­nuing to support you in the realiz­ation of your various projects in the future. We would also like to extend a special thank you to our more than 2,500 ILF-ers.
Thanks to your commitment, relia­bility, creativity and great dedication, we have achieved this top-10 position together.

Thank you very much!

Together with one of ÖBB Infra­struktur AG’s and DB Netz AG’s partners, ILF has been commis­sioned with a new project as part of the four-track upgrade of the Northern Feeder Line of the Brenner Base Tunnel. This project comprises the route design and project planning works needed for the submission of the environ­mental impact statement (in Austria) and the conceptual design (in Germany) for the Kirnstein–Schaftenau cross-border section. The approx. 13 km long cross-border Laiming Tunnel is the core element of this upgraded section.

In addition to the Laiming Tunnel, the respective adjacent open-track sections and the associated traffic facilities are also being designed. All of the design services will be carried out using the BIM method and the scope of these design services can also be extended to include the detailed design phase (in Austria) and the basic design phase (in Germany).

Having already been involved in the previous design phases for this section, in parti­cular in the route selection procedure, ILF is pleased to be able to continue working on this complex project in the further design phases.

The section being upgraded forms part of the Northern Feeder Line of the Brenner Base Tunnel, which will be the longest railway tunnel in the world when it is completed. Thus it consti­tutes an indis­pensable part of the Scandinavian–Mediterranean Corridor (Scan–Med Corridor) from Stockholm to Naples – the most important North–South railway link in Europe.

ILF has prepared the feasi­bility study for the Gas Inter­con­nection Poland–Lithuania (GIPL) and is pleased to announce that commercial operation of the pipeline has now begun.
The gas inter­con­nection, which is appro­xi­mately 508 km long, enables gas to be trans­ported both from Poland to Lithuania and from Lithuania to Poland. Full-scale commis­sioning of the GIPL project is scheduled to take place in autumn of this year.

ILF is extremely proud that its work has contri­buted to streng­t­hening Poland’s energy security.

Click here to learn more about this project in detail… 

ILF has been supporting and providing technical advice for Engineers Without Borders Austria (IOG), a non-profit association for technical develo­pment coope­ration, since 2017.

From 2021 until 2024, the IOG project team, together with the Tyrolean partner association “Zukunft für Tshumbe” (Future for Tshumbe), are planning to implement a water project for a primary school and kinder­garten in Tshumbe (DR Congo).
This TSHUWA project shall comprise facilities for waste­water treatment, rainwater drainage, sustainable drinking water abstraction and state-of the-art rainwater storage.

The IOG team, which includes committed ILF staff, have been helping with the technical design for this project. They have planned and designed the constructed wetland waste­water treatment plant and the rainwater storage and drainage facilities.

We are delighted to have made it into the Top 50 in the ENR Ranking of the Top 225 Inter­na­tional Design Firms.

The list of the Inter­na­tional Design Firms is based on the revenue achieved by companies outside of their domestic markets. In 2022, ILF is ranked 47th.
Among the top 150 global design firms, ILF has achieved 124th place, with the ranking in this category being based on the overall revenue of the companies.

We would like to thank our numerous clients for the confi­dence they place in us! We will be happy to continue supporting you in the realiz­ation of your various projects in the future. We would also like to extend a special thank you to our more than 2,500 ILF-ers.
Thanks to your commitment, your relia­bility, your creativity and your great dedication we have achieved this together.

Thank you very much!

ILF was commis­sioned by the political munici­pality of Nieder­glatt (Switz­erland) to perform the civil engineering works for a storm­water drainage system.

This paperless project was success­fully executed in a consortium with B+B using the BIM2Field method. The micro­tun­nelling works (DN 1400) over two reaches with a total length of 350 m were completed in July 2021. The civil engineering works have also been completed and included various shaft struc­tures, an intake structure below the river water level and various adjus­t­ments to the existing sewer system.

Despite delays of around three months due to lowering of the ground­water level in the difficult subsoil condi­tions, ILF was able to complete the works within the origi­nally planned time frame.

ILF joins the global movement of companies measuring and disclosing their impacts on the environment, society, economy and gover­nance in accordance with inter­na­tional reporting standards.
The Sustaina­bility Report 2021, which is now available, helps ILF to identify its strengths and weaknesses and to define mid- and long-term goals to reduce our environ­mental footprint and promote corporate sustainability.
We are proud to have taken this first step in making ILF more sustainable.

Read the complete ILF Sustaina­bility Report here …

ILF is proud to be part of the Woodsmith Project – as a design consultant, working for Strabag’s UK branch to deliver the project for their client Anglo American.

The project in the Woodsmith Mine (ENG) comprises a 37-km-long Material Transport System (MTS) tunnel with a diameter of 4.7 m as well as associated caverns and venti­lation shafts. Mined polyhalite will be trans­ported through this tunnel, in an environ­mentally friendly manner, via conveyor belts under­neath the North York Moors National Park, directly to the materials handling facility in Wilton for further processing. The polyhalite obtained will be used as fertilizer.

ILF has been providing detailed design services for the “Ladycross” steel lining shaft and the associated secant pile shaft in the same location.
In addition, ILF has carried out a CAT III check of the “Lockwood Beck” steel lining shaft design, parts of the MTS tunnel as well as the primary and secondary lining of the sprayed concrete lining tunnels.

NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corpo­ration), Nigeria and ONHYM (Office National Des Hydro­car­bures et Des Mines), Morrocco, are progressing with the plans for their mega-project Nigeria–Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP). The NMGP, an onshore and offshore gas pipeline crossing the land and waters of 16 countries along the Atlantic coast, shall bring Nigerian gas to North Africa and further to Spain for the European market. The pipeline will not only supply the local markets with reliable energy, it will also support indus­trial and economic develo­pment, create a compe­titive regional power market and benefit all West African countries and their economies.

ILF and DORIS Engineering are delighted to carry out the Project Management Consul­tancy services for the FEED Phase II of this project. ILF and DORIS can make use of their combined expertise and provide funda­mental support to the clients in the delivery of this strate­gi­cally important project.

The PMC services cover the Onshore and Offshore Pipeline and Compressor Station Engineering, the Engineering Surveys, the Environ­mental & Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and Land Acqui­sition Studies (LAS) and the Project Imple­men­tation Framework. The project explores the potential for using renewable energy resources to power the pipeline and reduce the project’s carbon footprint.

“With ILF having already been part of the Feasi­bility Phase and FEED Phase I of this world-scale project, the award of Phase II to us demons­trates the confi­dence that our long-term clients ONHYM and NNPC have in our Project Management Excel­lence and Relia­bility in delivering world class projects,” said Carles Giro, Area Manager Indus­trial Plants of ILF.

When completed, the over 6,000 km long gas pipeline will be the longest offshore pipeline in the world and the second longest pipeline ever. It has a planned diameter of 48″ offshore and 56″ onshore, with a planned throughput of 30BCMa.
The project coinci­deswith the “Decade of Gas Master Plan” that Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari launched in 2020. On the Moroccan side, this landmark project is part of the South–South coope­ration upheld by King Mohammed VI.

On behalf of the Swiss Federal Roads Office, FEDRO, ILF took the lead in the local site super­vision in an engineering consortium for completing the works at the Belchen rehabi­li­tation tunnel.

The project includes the connection of 11 cross passages to the existing central tube, two service tunnels between the existing and new portal control stations, two crossing passages for the emergency services at the tunnel entrance, a smoke partition wall and an access ramp to the isolated construction site.
The excavation works with a 13.97 diameter TBM taking place at the same time as the struc­tural construction works for the 3.2 km long tunnel were very complex with regard to logistics, design, planning and construction.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has appointed ILF to carry out a feasi­bility study for the develo­pment and upgradation of Agatti Airport.

This airport is the gateway to the Lakshadweep islands and is the only airport off the West Coast of India. The runway is to undergo a change in design and is to be extended to enable Airbus A320 operation. The terminal building, the apron, the runway end safety area (RESA) system and the taxiway are also to be upgraded for passenger flights. The upgradation of this airport is a challenge due to its special location, the required recla­mation of land and the non-availa­bility of local construction materials and labor.

Along with the feasi­bility study, ILF is also performing the surveying works and environ­mental studies for this project in which environment protection – e.g. marine and wildlife activities such as coral reef rehabi­li­tation – will play a key role.

The Austrian super­market chain and food producer MPREIS appointed ILF as the Owner’s Engineer for the largest single-stack electro­lysis plant in Europe.

The now realized hydrogen plant, with its 3.2 MW pressu­rized alkaline electro­lyzer, produces heat for the client’s bakery and fuel for a new fleet of hydrogen trucks.
Three 100 m³ hydrogen storage tanks (33 barg), a hydrogen refuelling station (350 barg) and a hydrogen trailer filling station have been constructed. A dual-fuel gas burner (H2/natural gas) heats the thermal oil system in the production facility.
ILF managed the technical inter­faces of this project and was respon­sible for preparing and submitting the challenging permitting documen­tation to the approval autho­rities. Furthermore, ILF prepared the tender documents and supported MPREIS during the bid evalua­tions. All involved parties broke new ground with this project, and thanks to the pro-active coope­ration at eye level, this innovative project has been imple­mented successfully.
ILF is proud to have worked on and success­fully taken such a light­house project from the early conceptual design phase up to the construction super­vision and commis­sioning support phases.

ILF has been chosen to be part of a 4,155 km² luxurious tourist desti­nation project, focused on wellness, sports, lifestyle and culture. Located on the Red Sea coast, the AMAALA project consists of ultra-luxurious hotels and residential complexes, which will be built on land and offshore. ILF will take on the role of PPP Technical Advisor for the tender prepa­ration and the bid evaluation and will provide advisory services for the commercial and financial close for the entire project, which involves the following utilities:

» Off-grid energy (generation, network and storage systems, including system stability simulation and energy modeling)

» Water (reverse osmosis plants, water networks and irrigation systems)

» Waste­water (sewage treatment plants)

ILF is proud to be part of such a remar­kable and presti­gious project. AMAALA, together with the other tourism desti­na­tions located on the North Western coast of Saudi Arabia, will be a turning point in the luxury tourism industry in the region.

ILF is proud to have been the Owner’s Engineer for the world’s largest reverse osmosis desali­nation plant, Rabigh 3. The Rabigh 3 plant is located in Saudi Arabia and produces 600,000 cubic meters of water per day.

After completing the project, ILF’s client, ACWA Power, and Saudi Brothers Commercial Company received the Guinness World RecordsTM title for creating the world’s largest plant of this kind. The ceremony was attended by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture – His Excel­lency Abdul­rahman Abdul­mohsen Al Fadhli, the Chairman of ACWA Power – Mohammad A. Abunayyan, and the CEO of the Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) – Khaled Alqureshi.

ILF is pleased to join the tunnel engineering design team for the Eagle Mountain – Woodfibre LNG Pipeline project, led by Aldea Services Inc.

The project, located North of Vancouver (CAN), will expand the existing natural gas trans­mission system to transport gas to the proposed Woodfibre LNG terminal. The pipeline tunnel will be 9 km long and will comprise an enlarged rock chamber at the interface of rock and soil tunnels.
The ILF team is respon­sible for pipeline engineering and design and will execute the work from ILF’s Canadian office in Calgary, Alberta.

AkSu KMG LLP has awarded ILF a PMC contract for a Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) Plant in Zhanaozen, Kazakhstan.

In light of the lack of water resources in the Western region of Kazakhstan, it was decided to build a modern water desali­nation plant with a capacity of 50,000 m³/day on the shore of the Caspian Sea. The current water deficit amounts to more than 20,000 m³/day. The project investment is estimated at appro­xi­mately USD 150 to 180 million. It is planned to construct a SWRO plant with a capacity of 50,000 m³/day, including pumping stations, a water pipeline (100 km), a water supply network, power supply and civil struc­tures. The new plant will supply the city of Zhanaozen (with appro­xi­mately 150,000 inhabi­tants) with potable water.

ILF will carry out an independent technical and commercial review of the feasi­bility study, including recom­men­da­tions on how to set up the project.

Vianode, an Elkem company, has awarded ILF a contract for the provision of engineering services for the Vianode Fast Track Project.

This project is part of the company’s effort to establish a large-scale production facility for synthetic graphite for lithium-ion batteries. The Fast Track Project comprises a production facility that will produce up to 4,200 tons of high-quality synthetic graphite per year. The facility will provide the framework and the expertise for a large-scale production facility with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons that will be built at the same location. The project is a brown­field develo­pment offering the possi­bility to utilize the existing building and utility systems. It is located at the Herøya Indus­trial Park in the southern part of Norway.

ILF’s main task will be to provide a cost estimate for both the Fast Track Project and the large-scale production facilities, as well as to deliver multi-disci­plinary engineering services for the plant’s utilities.

SVEVIND Energy GmbH signed a contract with ILF to procure together with a partner the concept design study for its 20 GW green hydrogen facility in the Mangystau region in Western Kazakhstan.

In the Mangystau region, SVEVIND plans the realiz­ation of a 30 GW wind and solar PV farm powering a 20 GW water electro­lysis indus­trial complex to produce about 2 million tons of green hydrogen per year from 2030to supply the Eurasian and the Kazakh’s domestic market. The develo­pment of the concept design is a further important step in the project develo­pment. The Mangystau region is most favorable consi­dering the investment environment, an abundance of renewable energy resources and the proximity to water resources required for the electro­lysis process.

Wolfgang Kropp, CEO of SVEVIND group said, “This Concept Design Study will be the first milestone in engineering the Mangystau green hydrogen project, a project unpre­ce­dented in scope, size and complexity aiming to deliver large amounts of green hydrogen and ammonia to Eurasian markets at compe­titive costs. We are glad to cooperate with ILF Consulting Engineers and ROLAND BERGER for this Concept Design, well reputable, very experi­enced consul­tants with broad knowledge in energy, hydrogen projects and about the region.”

Dr. Michel Kneller, Director of Hydrogen at ILF, highlighted, “ILF is excited to be part of such a ground-breaking project. We truly believe that hydrogen and its green deriva­tives are an important component of a sustainable energy policy and SVEVIND´s green hydrogen projects are an important milestone towards the scaling up of green hydrogen projects.”

The concept design study is aimed to advance SVEVIND’s planning across the whole value chain. Using the existing pre-feasi­bility studies results, a solid cost evaluation will be developed. Different technology routes will be explored to identify and pre-design the most promising options for the local condi­tions and project-specific demands. Finally, special attention is given to the transport options towards the desti­nation markets in Kazakhstan, Europe, and China.

ILF concurs with the U.N. General Assembly’s vote from 3 March 2022 demanding an immediate end to the offensive in Ukraine.

As an act of solidarity with the Ukrainian people, ILF has donated 100,000 EUR to a humani­tarian aid organiz­ation „Nachbar in Not” (Neighbor in Need), which like many others is providing immediate humani­tarian support to the Ukrainian population within the country and abroad.

Gas Connect Austria GmbH contracted ILF to carry out a feasi­bility study for the reduction of emissions at one of their compressor stations.

In the consi­dered station, three gas compressor units, each with a mecha­nical shaft power of approx. 11 MW, are installed. Each compressor unit is driven by a gas turbine. For the feasi­bility study, two approaches were inves­ti­gated and compared from both an economic and technical point of view. Furthermore, the time required for the imple­men­tation of each approach as well as the potential of each approach for reducing emissions were evaluated.

The scope of the recon­struction work and the amount of investment required for each of the two approaches differs.

One approach would entail repla­cement of one of the gas turbine driven compressor units with a larger electri­cally driven gas compressor unit, capable of covering the entire basic supply of the station. The remaining two gas compressor units would conse­quently only be used when needed, enabling CO₂ emissions to be reduced by 95% and methane emissions to be reduced by 88%.

The other approach would not entail any major recon­struction works, but would still reduce emissions from the existing plant. Great potential for savings was disco­vered related to process vent gas. On the basis of these findings, ILF elabo­rated a solution for the reduction of emissions. When the gas compressor units are switched off, the natural gas remaining in the compressor lines is blown out into the atmos­phere; therefore by re-compressing and re-feeding this process vent gas into the gas grid, methane emissions could be reduced by 80%.

As part of IG Nuovo Gottardo, ILF has won a contract for further design works for the 2^nd Gotthard road tunnel, the construction of which is scheduled to be completed in 2032. ASTRA, the Federal Roads Office, has extended the existing design services contract until the 2^nd tube of the Gotthard road tunnel is opened to traffic.

The new main tube will be excavated using one TBM starting at each portal. The tunnel will be constructed using two shield machines as well as segmental lining. The excavation diameter will be 12.26 m. The northern section of the 2^nd Gotthard road tunnel will have an excavated length of a little less than 8 km, and the southern section will have a length of a little more than 8 km. The inner lining of the main tube will be installed in the rear section simul­ta­ne­ously to the excavation works taking place in the front section. While the TBMs will excavate the last few kilometers towards the breakthrough, the struc­tural works for the tube will be completed in the area of the portals. In the course of the design works, the experience gained during projects such as the Belchen Rehabi­li­tation Tunnel could be used to the advantage of the client.

The scope of work rendered by ILF, as part of the IG, comprises the design services for two large under­ground control centers and a total of 67 cross-connec­tions, some with sub-stations and some with expanded tunnel roof sections accom­mo­dating stations for longi­tu­dinal ventilation.

Within the IG, ILF takes on the role of partial project manager for under­ground struc­tures as well as for the TBM northern section and the mined cross connec­tions and for the main works for the under­ground control centers. In addition, ILF is currently in the process of completing the design works for the northern external facilities – the realiz­ation of which is scheduled for mid 2022.

ILF has signed an exclusive engineering and project management consul­tancy services contract with Wafra Joint Opera­tions (WJO).

As agreed within the contract, ILF shall deliver the entire range of engineering, consul­tancy and project management services required in upstream facility projects – from early concepts to FEED, all the way to Owner’s Engineering services, super­vision and PMC services. ILF’s compe­tence will be required for field redeve­lo­pment activities as well as for the upgrade, revamp and moder­niz­ation of oilfield infra­st­ructure by applying state-of-the-art engineering techno­logies and consi­dering environ­mental and climate protection targets.

ILF looks forward to supporting WJO in achieving its ambitious objec­tives in a challenging market environment.

In 2017, ILF was commis­sioned by ÖBB Infra­struktur AG as part of the consortium “Northern Railway Line Team” (Austria) to prepare planning documents for the environ­mental impact assessment (EIA) submission.
Works related to the Southern section of the line were commis­sioned in autumn 2021. With the contract, an option for further tendering and detailed planning was also awarded.

The project “Upgrade of the Northern Railway Line on the Wien Süßenbrunn–Bernhardsthal Section” comprises the section from Wien Süßen­brunn (at km 11.900) to the state border next to Bernhardsthal (at km 77.993). The Northern Railway Line, which shall be upgraded over a length of around 66 km, connects 17 stations is being Austria’s oldest railway line (opened in 1838). The upgrade of the line will increase the speed at which trains can travel, from 120 or 140 km/h to 160 or 200 km/h, and will enable the struc­tural facilities to meet state-of-the-art standards.

From a railway engineering and permit appli­cation point of view, the line has been divided into two sections (the Northern and the Southern section).
Permission for the Southern section was received in autumn 2021; and permission for the Northern section is expected to be applied for in spring 2022.

The entirety of the line (both the Northern and the Southern section) forms part of the “European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Corridor E: Dresden–Prague–Vienna/Budapest–Constanţa” as well as the priority projects “PP 22: Athens–Sofia–Budapest–Vienna–Prague–Dresden/Nuremberg” and “PP 23: Gdansk–Warsaw–Brno/Bratislava–Vienna”. Furthermore, the line is part of the Rail Freight Corridors 5 and 7 and the TEN‑T Core Network.

The Royal Commission for Riyadh City in Saudi Arabia (RCRC) selected ILF as the Project Management Consultant (PMC) for the 1,700,000 m³/day TSE trans­mission network.
This network will provide irrigation water for one of the most ambitious urban greening projects in the world. Green Riyadh is one of Riyadh’s four mega projects launched by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, HM King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud, at the beginning of 2019.

7.5 million trees will be planted in all city features, facilities, and provinces, multi­plying green spaces per capita share. All these plants will be irrigated by a network using only recycled waste­water, which is currently wasted. 83 native tree species that can survive Riyadh’s environment were selected for this project. The greening initiative will improve air quality and reduce tempe­ra­tures (up to 8–15 °C in the shade) in one of the hottest capital cities on the planet. Conse­quently, the initiative will encourage Riyadh’s citizens to follow a healthy lifestyle and ultimately transform Riyadh into one of the world’s leading cities, following the strategic goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

The objective is to support the Green Riyadh initiative by estab­li­shing a complex and strategic recycled water network with a daily capacity of 1,700,000 m³ (approx. 400 Olympic pools). ILF will perform design review, procu­rement super­vision, construction super­vision and overall project management for three different lots in order to bring treated water from the city’s major waste water treatment plants to its final destinations.

By supporting the Green Riyadh initiative, ILF will not only contribute to the Kingdom’s long-term vision, but our teams will also work at the core of ILF’s very own mission statement, “improving quality of life.”

ILF and engineering partners won a contract for cross-border design services for the Dresden (GER) – Prague (CZE) high-speed railway line.

The key element of ILF’s contract is the preli­minary design of the Erzge­birge base tunnel, with a minimum length of approx. 25 km, involving two alter­na­tives, a “partial tunnel” and a “full tunnel”, including surveying services.
The contract also involves design services for the following construction activities:
• Design for engineering struc­tures, such as the Seide­witztal bridge or trough structures
• Transport planning for railway lines, roads and rescue areas
• Design for an overtaking station

The planning and design works, all of which shall be carried out using the BIM method, comprise the German HOAI service phases “basic evaluation” and “preli­minary planning” (SPHs 1 and 2 for project planning and struc­tural planning). The design works are well underway and will be completed by the end of 2024. ILF looks forward to delivering another successful project.

The Infra­st­ructure Investment Facili­tation Company (IIFC) of Bangladesh has contracted ILF to carry out a large-scale feasi­bility study and to develop the conceptual and tender design for the repla­cement, moder­niz­ation and automation of the gas trans­mission and distri­bution network of Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka and the city of Narayanganj.

The existing gas network has organi­cally grown over several decades, without any overall concept, and is no longer able to satisfy the demands of the millions of indus­trial and domestic users in the area. The objective of this interesting project is to have a modern and reliable gas network that enables remote monitoring and control at junctions and end points, with the possi­bility of trans­forming the existing network into a “smart” grid. The moder­niz­ation of the network makes a key contri­bution to the achie­vement of the Sustainable Develo­pment Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh.

ILF is looking forward to developing this demanding project and is pleased about being able to improve the quality of life for the population in Bangladesh.

Hydro4U is an EU project funded under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. In this project, ILF and 12 other partners from eight countries are working together under the coordi­nation of the Technical University of Munich to develop solutions which boost sustainable small-scale hydro­power in Central Asia. Two pioneering hydro­power types shall be imple­mented in demons­tration plants in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

To this day, small-scale hydro­power remains largely unharnessed in Central Asia. Yet there is great potential to transfer European small-scale hydro­power schemes to Central Asian regions. So far there are only few European reference projects in this region as they tend to be consi­derably more expensive than those of Asian competitors.

The Hydro4U project will now adjust two innovative techno­logies developed in Europe to the requi­re­ments in Central Asia. The aim of this project is keeping the costs as low as possible through concept simpli­fi­cation, modula­riz­ation and standar­di­z­ation without compro­mising efficiency. At the same time, the project also focuses on key aspects such as sustaina­bility, environ­mental compa­ti­bility and social acceptance.
In the course of the Hydro4U project two eco-friendly demo hydro­power plants will be installed and assessed: one low-head plant with a capacity of up to 500 kW in Kazakhstan and one medium-head plant with a capacity of approx. 2 MW in Uzbekistan.

Project duration: 06/2021–05/2026

Countries involved: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switz­erland, Uzbekistan

Learn more here: Hydro4U

As part of the new railway line between Köstendorf and Salzburg, an efficient connection will be built as an addition to the 150-year-old existing line. The 21.3 km long railway line is being planned by ILF within the framework of two joint ventures (open-track section and tunnel), with the 16.5 km long Flachgau tunnel comprising the key element.

The open-track section before and after the tunnel has a total length of 4.3 km and crosses the Fischach tubular bridge which has a span of approx. 42 m.
The planned Flachgau tunnel will have two single-track tunnel tubes. The design services will be carried out using the BIM method and shall, in addition to the early service phases, also include the option for the tender and construction design together with the geotech­nical engineering on site as well as the maintenance planning. This tunnel, which will be constructed and advanced under­neath the existing line using the New Austrian tunneling method (NATM), a tunnel boring machine (TBM), the cut-and-cover method and box jacking, is a very challenging assignment with complex planning and design works.

ILF looks forward to developing this demanding project.

As part of a joint venture with two partners, ILF was awarded a 5‑year framework contract by the North Caspian Operating Company B.V. (NCOC) for the North Caspian Offshore Project – the first major offshore oil and gas develo­pment in Kazakhstan.

The project comprises five fields: Kashagan, Kalamkas Sea, Kairan, Aktoty and Kashagan South West. The giant Kashagan field is one of the largest oil disco­veries of the past four decades, containing appro­xi­mately 9–13 billion barrels of recoverable oil. The combined safety, engineering and logistical challenges in this harsh offshore environment make Kashagan one of the world’s largest and most complex indus­trial projects currently being developed.

The scope of ILF work includes conceptual studies, pre-FEED and FEED develo­pment and other services.

The Stadt­ent­wäs­serung Frankfurt am Main (SEF, https://www.stadtentwaesserung-frankfurt.de/) entrusted ILF Consulting Engineers together with a German partner to plan, execute and implement the expansion of the Niederrad Waste­water Treatment Plant (WWTP).

The Niederrad WWTP is currently reaching its maximum design capacity of 1.35 million PE. The expansion is therefore urgently required in order to be prepared for future develo­p­ments in the constantly growing Frankfurt area. For this reason, the number of secondary aeration tanks (with a volumetric capacity of 7,200 m³ each) will be increased from 8 to 10, and the number of secondary sedimen­tation tanks (with a volumetric capacity of 1,875 m³ each) will be increased from 32 to 40. The project comprises the smooth integration of these new tanks, as well as the associated mecha­nical, electrical and SCADA equipment, into the existing plant while maintaining conti­nuous plant operation and compliance with effluent requirements.

Additio­nally part of the assignment are the re-routing of existing pipework and the construction of an access road.

ILF will be involved in all eight service phases of this project, which are in accordance with the German Official Scale of Fees for Services by Archi­tects and Engineers (HOAI), including the building permission appli­cation as well as construction super­vision and commis­sioning. The completion is scheduled for February 2027.

ILF Consulting Engineers and Global Energy Ventures (GEV) have signed a Memorandum of Under­standing (MOU) to identify and develop green hydrogen projects in Europe and Australia that include a compressed hydrogen (C‑H2) generation and trans­por­tation solution, offering a valuable addition of marine trans­por­tation to the H2 value chain.

ILF will design the upstream infra­st­ructure from the producer to the export or loading facility and the downstream infra­st­ructure from the import or unloading facility to the consumer, while GEV will cover the port-to-port trans­por­tation of hydrogen using compressed gaseous hydrogen ships. For projects that involve importing hydrogen from regional markets in close proximity to Europe, such as the Middle East and North Africa region, GEV has identified an oppor­tunity to leverage offshore loading capacity and develop a compressed gaseous hydrogen solution for the offshore wind industry. Thus, a fleet of vessels could provide an offshore loading and transport solution for areas where an subsea cable or pipeline on seabed is not suitable.

Jens Kottsieper, ILF Business Develo­pment Manager, commented, „The trans­por­tation of large volumes of gas is an issue that ILF has been involved with for over 50 years. We are pleased to be able to complement our pipeline expertise with GEV’s expertise in the cost-effective transport of hydrogen by ship. Working with GEV will allow us to provide our customers with even more compre­hensive advice on their trans­por­tation issues in order to develop a solution that meets their specific needs.”

The Surhan Gas Chemical Operating Company performs its activities in the oil and gas sector under the Production Sharing Agreement for the Uzbekiston Musta­qilligi investment block, with the explo­ration and develo­pment of the “Musta­qil­li­kning 25 Yilligi” (25 Years of Indepen­dence) field and construction of a gas chemical complex, with an area of 3,980 km² in the Surhandarya region of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

ILF has been awarded and will provide all PMC services, including engineering support during the detailed design, procu­rement and quality management, construction super­vision on site, support of commis­sioning and start-up activities for the above mentioned facility. ILF’s scope of work also includes scheduling, risk analysis, and HSE.
All these activities will ensure full support of the Client in the delivery of this strate­gi­cally important project.

Within the framework of the upgrade to four-track operation of the Northern feeder line to the Brenner Base Tunnel, ILF Consulting Engineers and a partner were commis­sioned by ÖBB INFRA to carry out the tender and construction design as well as the geotech­nical engineering on site for the primary lining of the approx. 2.5 km long Angath tunnel. Once completed, the Angath tunnel shall serve as the rescue tunnel for the 11.5 km long Angerberg tunnel.

The Schaftenau–Radfeld section is part of the northern feeder line of the Brenner Base Tunnel and therefore consti­tutes an essential part of the most important North-South railway link in Europe. The Angerberg tunnel situated near Wörgl is the key element of this upgrade.

The entire design services shall be carried out using the BIM method and shall also include the option for the tender and construction design together with the geotech­nical engineering on site for the 2.9 km long section of the twin-track Angerberg tunnel. A sequential excavation method (NATM) is planned for the tunnel structures.

ILF has already been involved in the previous design phases and now continues to work on this challenging project in the next design phases.

Graphic: OEBB/GC Vision

ILF Consulting Engineers is pleased to announce its parti­ci­pation, as a Golden Sponsor, in the 16th Pipeline Technology Confe­rence (PTC), to be held virtually, from March 15th to March 18th 2021.

Also during this year’s PTC, our experts will demons­trate their technical expertise. Dr. York Schorling, Director for large-scale projects, will present on the topic of hydrogen, and Dr. Robert Ofner, Head of Struc­tural Engineering, and Dr. Klaus Robl, Geologist, will present on the topic of planning & construction.

You are most welcome to visit us at our digital booth to find out more about our compe­tences and experience in the field of pipeline engineering.

Let us know how we can help you tackle your challenges (info.ger@ilf.com)! We look forward to your visit. For further infor­mation, please visit the official PTC website at http://www.pipeline-conference.com

March 4th is a great day for all engineers worldwide. It has been declared as the World Engineering Day for Sustainable Develo­pment by UNESCO. This date not only recognizes the contri­bution of our profession to climate change and sustaina­bility, but also reminds us to continue to increase this contribution.

Climate change and sustaina­bility have a very high priority at ILF. With the provision of engineering and consulting services, ILF makes a signi­ficant contri­bution to improving the quality of life worldwide.

Date and time:
February 26, 2021
11:00 AM — 12:00 PM (CET) / 10:00 AM — 11:00 AM (GMT)

Green hydrogen is incre­a­singly seen as an indis­pensable part of the Energy Transition. Ambitious targets for producing it have been set for the mid-2020s and 2030.

Many projects and use cases are proposed, but how is an industry that currently only operates at the level of tens of MW going to reach GW-scale quickly – and effici­ently – enough? Will access to cheap energy at the boundaries of and/or outside Europe help to make green hydrogen compe­titive in the mid to long term, even taking the need to transport hydrogen into account?

ILF, Dentons  and Operis have produced a white paper on Scaling up Green Hydrogen in Europe. In it, we look across the hydrogen value chain and consider both the physical and contractual/regulatory infra­st­ructure that will be needed to make the vision of a hydrogen economy a reality. We consider how to match supply and demand for hydrogen; suggest possible models for financing hydrogen projects and trading their output; and review the role of public financial support and other policy inter­ven­tions. We are optimistic about the prospects, but also realistic about some of the challenges facing this new industry.

We will be launching the white paper at the online seminar.

After a brief presen­tation of our conclu­sions, a panel of industry experts who are engaged in commercial hydrogen projects will debate the issues and share insights from their own experience.

Speakers from ILF, Dentons and Operis will be joined by:

• Julia Prescot, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder at Meridiam Infra­st­ructure, Member of the UK National Infra­st­ructure Commission
• Roland Schulze, Managerial Adviser on Low Carbon Techno­logies, European Investment Bank
• Marinus Tabak, Plant Manager, RWE

Please click the „Register now” button below if you would like to attend the cost-free online seminar, or to receive a copy of the white paper when it is released.

We look forward to meeting you virtually and to an interesting discussion. Please do not hesitate to contact ILF if you have any questions.

Register now

The Ministry of Construction, Housing Munici­pa­lities and Public Works of Iraq has awarded ILF Consulting Engineers a contract to provide consulting services for a project that should make desali­nated seawater available for 13 munici­pa­lities in the Al Basrah governorate (Iraq). During the next 30 to 40 years, it is expected that the project will supply more than seven million people with potable water.

The project comprises a 1,000,000 m³/d capacity desali­nation plant, which will desalinate seawater taken from the Arabian Gulf in the area of the Al Fao Grand Port Develo­pment, and a 240 km long water trans­mission system, which will transport the potable water to nine offtake stations, thus connecting this new system with the existing water supply systems of 13 munici­pa­lities. A captive power plant with a capacity of 300 MW will produce the required energy to desalinate and transport the water.

ILF’s services are divided into two phases: Phase 1 includes the feasi­bility study, environ­mental scoping, conceptual design, prepa­ration of tender documents and support of contract negotia­tions until award of the imple­men­tation contract. Phase 2 services comprise site super­vision and PMC services, from the start of construction to the start of operation.

On December 9th, 2020, ILF Consulting Engineers signed an engineering services contract with the Myanmar Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE), Department of Hydro­power Imple­men­tation (DHPI) for the 110 MW Tha-Htay Hydro­power Project.

The project uses the water flows of the Tha-Htay River, about 19 km northeast of Thandwe, Rakhine State. The project includes the construction of a 90 m high, zoned rockfill dam, with a crest length of 618 m. Two diversion tunnels with a diameter of 10 m each will divert the water during construction.

After an inter­na­tional compe­titive bidding process, ILF was awarded the engineering services, which cover the review of existing studies, prepa­ration of tender documents and detailed design, as well as super­vision support to the DHPI during the construction. The contract will cover a period of 57 months.

As part of the ongoing Vestfold­banen railway upgrade scheme, state-owned Norwegian railway infra­st­ructure company Bane NOR is building 10 km of new double-track railway between Drammen and Kobbervikdalen.
In 2018, ILF Consulting Engineers was hired by the Norwegian contractor Veidekke Entre­prenør AS as the designer of the most techni­cally challenging section of the project, a 290 m‑long tunnel mined in difficult geology below the ground­water table. The excavation commences in low cohesion glacio­fluvial deposits and progres­sively transi­tions into full face rock excavation. Extensive ground impro­vement works in the form of jet-grouting will be executed from the surface in advance of the tunnelling works.

Norway has a long tradition of rock tunnelling, however large span soil tunnels are not common in the country. ILF is able to bring expertise and success on similar tunnel designs to this project.

Initially, ILF prepared the Tender Design and supported Veidekke during the Compe­titive Dialogue compe­tition. After the EPC Contract was awarded to Veidekke in October 2019, ILF developed the Concept Design to later carry on with the Detailed Design, which is currently underway and includes a BIM model which is then integrated into a combined model of all the works within the contract.

The 3.6 km long Kramer Tunnel will be the longest two-way tunnel in Germany. It is primarily meant to relieve through traffic in downtown Garmisch-Parten­kirchen and towards Grainau/Eibsee and the federal border at Griesen. In 2020, the Staat­liche Bauamt Weilheim contracted ILF Consulting Engineers to carry out the following design phases: 5 to 9 (among others, prepa­ration of tender documents, contract awarding and site super­vision) for the instal­lation of the operation and safety equipment.

The Kramer tunnel will predo­mi­nantly be constructed as a mined tunnel. Furthermore, the tunnel will have two opera­tions buildings outside and a cavern inside the tunnel with a 26 m high exhaust air chimney. The tunnel is planned with cross passages acces­sible to pedestrians and vehicles as escape routes. More than 1,300 LED lights will ensure that necessary lighting is provided in the Kramer Tunnel. 16 jet fans (55 kW each), and 2 exhaust air fans (420 kW each) ensure that the required venti­lation concept is implemented.

Since 2017 ILF has been success­fully involved in the Kramer tunnel project, carrying out tunnelling and road design services, prepa­ration of tender documents and risk analysis as well as the first three design phases for the operation and safety equipment.

Besides diverse challenges that we faced, the year 2020 that is drawing to a close also brought us many encou­raging develo­p­ments. All in all, a sense of great satis­faction and gratitude prevails regarding what we have achieved together.

Our sincere thanks go to our esteemed clients and business partners for their constructive cooperation.

Wishing you a peaceful holiday season, and above all else, health and happiness in the New Year 2021!

On account of the growing complexity of day-to-day project work, the demands on reporting are incre­asing signi­fi­cantly. Due to the lack of automated processes, classic reporting is prone to errors, only partially up to date and time consuming as well.

By imple­menting analy­tical software solutions such as MS Power BI, the great potential of infor­mation management can also be used for reporting. The aim is to visualize project-specific data both quanti­ta­tively and quali­ta­tively, and in a struc­tured and descriptive manner. These project cockpits are used for quality assurance and also for project coordi­nation and control.
For the project, 2. S‑Bahn-Stamm­strecke München (2nd Munich S‑Bahn Main Line), the Client, Deutsche Bahn, requested quality assurance for BIM in the design phase for various disci­plines. In the course of the general BIM coordi­nation, ILF Consulting Engineers developed the quality assurance process by means of MS Power BI. In a multi-stage procedure, the quality of the individual technical models was evaluated and presented in a report. After the client’s approval, a uniform workflow, an inter­di­sci­plinary template and a project-specific user guide were developed.

For the project, this consti­tutes a new standard of quality assurance, which has been imple­mented for the first time with such profes­sio­nalism and which will be a yardstick for future projects.

The Northern Feeder Line forms part of the Trans-European Scandi­navian-Mediter­ranean Corridor, which stretches from the South of Finland to the island of Malta. The current project is located along the Munich–Verona axis and is a component of the Northern Feeder Line to the Brenner Base Tunnel.

DB Netz AG has recently commis­sioned ILF Consulting Engineers, as part of a joint venture, to provide design services for the route selection process involving public parti­ci­pation for the planned Grafing–Großkarolinenfeld project area. The Grafing–Großkarolinenfeld section will consist of a new twin-track high-speed line running from Grafing station to an area south of Tunten­hausen. As part of this joint venture, ILF has also been involved in the Großkarolinenfeld–Schaftenau section in Austria since 2016. This section is located next to the Grafing–Großkarolinenfeld section.

The electrified twin-track high-speed line shall provide greater capacities for rail traffic and contribute to relieving traffic on the existing Munich–Innsbruck railway line. Facili­tating train speeds of up to 230 km/h, the new line is furthermore advan­ta­geous for passengers traveling long distances. The Grafing–Großkarolinenfeld section has a length of approx. 23 km and a maximum longi­tu­dinal gradient of 12.5 ‰. The entire processing of the project has been done using BIM, starting from the early design stages.

Core elements of the design contract include develo­pment of feasible route alter­na­tives, environ­mental inves­ti­ga­tions and inter­di­sci­plinary route selection, as well as perfor­mance of a compre­hensive baseline survey and a project area analysis. The design works will be accom­panied by extensive citizen participation.

ILF Consulting Engineers, together with partners, was awarded the contract for the design services for the new eastern bypass of Garmisch-Parten­kirchen (Germany) by Staat­liches Bauamt Weilheim. This project will provide traffic relief on the existing B2 federal road Munich–Mittenwald with a predicted traffic volume of more than 30,000 vehicles/day.

An essential component of the approx. 5 km long city bypass is the construction of the approx. 3.5 km long Wank tunnel with a parallel escape tunnel at the south-western slope of the Wank mountain range.

The design services include all HOAI service phases, from the preli­minary design to the construction design, and are to be carried out using the BIM method.

With the imple­men­tation of EU Directive 2004/54/EC, tunnel safety became a central aspect in the design and operation of road tunnels. By doing so, Austria intro­duced a perfor­mance-based approach to tunnel safety. The Austrian tunnel risk analysis model (TuRisMo) is defined in the Austrian guideline RVS 09.03.11, which describes one of the first methods for analyzing and assessing road tunnel safety in a quanti­tative manner.

TuRisMo combines different metho­dical elements for analyzing a tunnel system in its entirety and follows a holistic approach. The use of TuRisMo offers the possi­bility of quanti­ta­tively recording and assessing almost all decisive factors influ­encing tunnel safety. This contri­butes to ensuring that invest­ments for tunnel safety are used as cost effici­ently as possible.

For more infor­mation or answers to your questions please contact www.tunnelriskmodel.at.

For the large-scale distri­bution of hydrogen in Germany, the Fachverband der Netzbe­treiber (FNB) – the German Association of Network Operators – proposes to make modifi­ca­tions to the existing natural gas network as well as to a number of new construction projects.

A compa­rison of FNB’s proposed hydrogen network with under­ground cable projects in Germany shows that the routes for the direct current trans­mission lines, which are already in the planning stage, could be meaning­fully used to complete the planned H2 pipeline network. In addition, this could increase the H2 transport capacities in a North–South direction to appro­xi­mately 10 GWh/h.

In an initial study conducted by ILF Consulting Engineers, it became apparent that pipe laying is techni­cally feasible within a large part of the route for the power trans­mission lines, with only a few sections leading to increased planning and construction costs. For the smallest part of the routes, a small-scale re-routing of the H2 pipeline is likely to be advisable for economic reasons. The next steps shall be the exami­nation of the general condi­tions, especially with regard to the project’s chances of receiving authority approval and a detailed consi­de­ration of the technical feasibility.

Like many urban agglo­me­ra­tions, Cologne is also experi­encing incre­asing numbers of commuters. In addition, the highly frequented Cologne railway loop is a central connection point for regional, national and inter­na­tional rail traffic.

In order to increase the capacity of the line and the frequency of the trains on the line, invest­ments are to be made into the expansion of Cologne’s local public transport system. ILF Consulting Engineers has been commis­sioned with the overall design for the expansion of the S11/S‑Bahn Main Line, package 1 “VP1” (Köln-Dellbrück to Bergisch Gladbach) (https://sbahnkoeln.de/).

The scope of services includes, among other things, the planning and design of the trans­por­tation facilities and engineering struc­tures, environ­mental planning, subsoil inves­ti­ga­tions, the necessary noise and vibration inves­ti­ga­tions, the planning and design of the control and signaling technology as well as overhead trans­mission systems, and site super­vision during the planning and design.

Hydro power is commonly consi­dered as a mature technology. Does this mean that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks?

The increase in calcu­lation power allows us employing Compu­ta­tional Fluid Dynamics simula­tions to tailor standard struc­tures to your needs and to design and test truly innovative hydraulics structures.

See in the below video how we used cutting-edge CFD models to re-design the Nam Emoun project in Lao PDR. The key for the trans­for­mation of the project was the imple­men­tation of fully pressu­rized waterways. To guarantee opera­tional flexi­bility and hydraulic stability, an innovative baffled dropshaft structure was developed and tested. Thus, the cost of the project could be reduced by USD20 million compared to the prior contractor offer, the energy output was increased by almost 10% and the construction time was reduced by 8 months. CFD was key to turn a barely feasible project into a high-perfor­mance investment. So, Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Contact us to learn more about Engineering Excel­lence by ILF Consulting Engineers and how ILF can help you develop and built truly sustainable energy projects. Our Engineering, Your Success!

The video can also be found here.

After years of searching in vain for an ecolo­gi­cally and econo­mi­cally justi­fiable location for a new storage reservoir, which is needed to increase the capacity of the snow-making system in the northern part of the Schmit­tenhöhe ski area, an alter­native solution, which involves taking water directly from Lake Zell, has been developed together with Schmit­ten­hö­hebahn AG, one of ILF’s long-standing clients. ILF was commis­sioned to develop a techni­cally feasible solution that could be approved by the autho­rities and to support the imple­men­tation of this solution during the permit appli­cation design, detailed design and site super­vision, all the way through to commissioning.

A first construction phase in 2019 included the construction of a pumping station at Lake Zell, which involved the instal­lation of pipes via pipe jacking under the federal road, the ÖBB railway line and the lakeside promenade, with the pipes leading directly into Lake Zell. Water is taken from Lake Zell and pumped through several pump units, at a total of 150 l/s, via an appro­xi­mately 3‑km-long supply line to the existing Sonnalm I pumping station.

In 2020, the Sonnalm II pumping station was constructed during the second construction phase. By means of an additional pumping station, the entire additional flow capacity can now be used to transport water to the snow makers via the new powerful cooling system with a total of 6 large cooling towers. After completion and commis­sioning of the system in autumn 2020, the Schmit­tenhöhe AG will now be able to provide guaranteed snow in the northern part of the ski area, thanks to the powerful snow-making system.

Cooling off in a sudden rain shower on a hot summer day often feels good. But a thunder­storm with torrential rain can quickly lead to flooding and cause serious damages in cities and settlements.
Extreme rainfall events are difficult to predict as they occur suddenly and on a small spatial scale. Due to climate change, the occur­rence of such events will very likely increase and it is advisable to be well prepared before they happen.

With a competent and inter­di­sci­plinary team and with specia­lized modeling tools, ILF Consulting Engineers supports its clients in preparing and developing protective measures. A key element is the hazard analysis carried out using a hydro­dy­namic model that simulates the runoff of storm­water in the drainage system and on the surface, i.e. on streets, squares, or along ditches and rivers, thus making it possible to assess the associated risks. Based on the analysis results, various protective measures can be developed.

For more infor­mation or answers to your questions please contact Marc.Ischen@ilf.com.

Through the appli­cation of Compu­ta­tional Design (CD) on infra­st­ructure projects, ILF Consulting Engineers breaks new ground. The approach was based on combining the CD skills with engineering and software expertise. Together, this combi­nation was able to recognize the possi­bi­lities and streamline design processes with increased quality and time savings.

ILF tunneling experts used CD to create optimized tunnel profile designs for the creation of building infor­mation modeling (BIM) models of tunnels based on real-world tunnel projects. Using generative design solutions which allow the user to set variables and desired goals such as minimum excavation area and/or required venti­lation area, an optimized tunnel cross section is produced and used in turn for the creation of the BIM models.

A further example involved the design of tunnel branches based on inputs such as typical cross section data, align­ments, gradients, chainages and cross slope infor­mation. A parametric 3D model of the tunnel branch geometry and 2D sections of the tunnel profiles are produced. By reducing the time for production of design alter­na­tives to 20 %, various alter­na­tives can be consi­dered and the quality of the final design can be optimized.

For further infor­mation or answers to your questions, please contact fearghal.timlin@ilf.com.

ILF Consulting Engineers has been working on the large-scale project Stuttgart 21 (S21) since being awarded a contract by the Deutsche Bahn, at the end of 2009, to carry out the construction super­vision for various sections of the project. With the planned construction works, the entire floor plan of the Stuttgart Central Station will be rotated by approx. 90 degrees and laid under­ground. This requires the construction of numerous new inter­con­nec­tions and many modifi­ca­tions on existing lines in the inner-city area, as well as the construction of new tunnel sections as feeder lines to the future Stuttgart station.

ILF’s scope of services comprises the design sections 1.2 and 1.6a of the S21 project (see overview below), which are inter­con­nected to the new central station by tunnels ending in the future high-speed track of the new Stuttgart–Ulm line, which is currently being constructed in the South of Stuttgart. In addition there are under­ground connec­tions to the existing railway lines towards Unter­türkeim and Obertürkheim in the East.

ILF’s experts have now been success­fully involved in this large-scale project for more than 10 years and will continue to work on this project for some years to come. The commis­sioned services mainly comprise technical and construction contract-related services as the construction super­visor, railway opera­tional services in the vicinity of the facilities in operation, as well as services for project completion including handover of the entire concrete and struc­tural works prior to the commen­cement of works on the track bed struc­tures being carried out by other contractors.

So far, a total of appro­xi­mately 28 km of single-track tunnel tubes have been driven using mining methods (NATM) and tunnel boring machines (TBMs). The tunnel cross sections are appro­xi­mately 8 to 9 m in diameter, with under­ground bifur­ca­tions as well as appro­xi­mately 30 emergency connection struc­tures. In addition, 3 large portal struc­tures are being constructed using the cut-and-cover method, each appro­xi­mately 300–500 m long with trough and rectan­gular cross-sections in partly confined condi­tions next to railway lines that are already in operation.

Currently, the last tunnel sections are being driven towards Obertürkheim. Parallel to this, the inner linings in all sections of the tunnels and the cut-and-cover works in the portal areas are nearing completion. The next major milestone is expected to be reached by mid-2021, which will comprise the initiation of the subse­quent track works on several tunnel sections around Stuttgart.