News

At ILF Consulting Engineers, we’re dedicated to improving the quality of life in communities worldwide.

One of our projects addresses the critical need for water supply in Lyari, the oldest part of Karachi, and reflects our ethos of #improvingqualityoflife around the world.
Water pipelines starting at Keenjhar Lake with an overall length of approx. 110 km and diameters up to 84″ are planned and will provide the area and the local community with potable water for daily use. ILF Austria is working in a Joint Venture with local partners and is also supported by the ILF Pakistan office.
ILF was involved in the system design during the tender phase and is presently responsible for the design review and providing consulting services to the end client WAPDA – (Pakistan) Water and Power Development Authority.

Watch the video to learn how this project is set to transform the lives of one million people by providing clean and accessible water by 2024.
There are English subtitles available (if it doesn’t come on automatically) – click next to the Settings wheel (bottom right)

ILF has built up vast experience in the refinery business over the last decades. Trusting in our capabilities, one of ILF’s major clients asked our engineers to assist them with a turnaround in their refinery in Romania.

The maintenance work for this turnaround had to be completed within one month. While three projects only had to be completed, one of the projects had to be completely implemented within this short period of time. The ILF team completed more than 30 tie-ins for the ongoing tank construction projects during this month.

During the turnaround, ILF’s team of engineers was involved in all activities related to:

• • piping, mechanical, civil, electrical and instrumentation engineering
  • safety coordination
  • logistics

We are very proud to say that in the more than 3,000 hours of supervision and technical assistance provided by ILF, not a single incident occurred.

The Greater Zurich Area is currently much better connected to the Extra-High Voltage (EHV) grid from the North than it is from the South. In the North, the 220-kV grid extends as far as the city of Zurich. In the South, on the other hand, connection points are only connected to the city boundary with one 150-kV line each. Swissgrid therefore plans to connect the new Waldegg Substation to the EHV grid so that the EHV grid in future also extends as far as the city of Zurich from the South.

On behalf of @Swissgrid and @ewz, we – as part of the engineering consortium KiWa220 (c/o @ILF Consulting Engineers in Switzerland, @Suisseplan Ingenieure) – have been responsible, since February, for the overall project management of the planning and design of the new Waldegg Substation. From here, electricity will flow into the city of Zurich. The substation will be built underground to minimize its impact on the landscape and visibleness from the neighboring residential area as much as possible.

We would like to thank the client for the trust which they have placed in us and are pleased to be able to make a contribution to the security of electricity supply in the city of Zurich.

Leran more about this project in detail…

Hyphen’s project is one of the largest green hydrogen projects globally, and will supply and decarbonise Namibia’s energy systems, as well as exporting to international markets. Hyphen is targeting annual production of one million tonnes of green ammonia by 2027, with plans to increase annual production to two million tonnes by 2029, cutting 5-6 million tonnes in CO2 emissions every year. Operating at full scale, Hyphen’s project could produce 350,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually.

The project in Tsau // Khaeb National Park will act as a blueprint for future green hydrogen projects globally. Hyphen Hydrogen Energy (Hyphen) recently announced the signing of a partnership agreement with ILF Consulting Engineers (ILF) to support the delivery of its ground-breaking green hydrogen project.

As part of an integrated team, ILF will provide project management services and technical expertise to drive Hyphen’s project in Namibia, as well as procurement and contract advice. ILF will also provide implementation expertise in support of Hyphen’s socio-economic-development goals.

Marco Raffinetti, CEO of Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, said: “Our partnership with ILF marks an exciting step towards establishing Namibia as a world leader in the green hydrogen sector. ILF’s experience working on hydrogen projects across the world will be invaluable and will help Hyphen meet the project timelines and Namibia’s development objectives. “This appointment, combined with our engagement with potential consortium partners, shows there is massive interest in Namibia from those looking to invest in one of the world’s lowest cost and most advanced large scale green hydrogen projects. We look forward to working closely with ILF in the delivery of this transformative project.”

Dr. Michel Kneller, Director of Hydrogen at ILF, said: “We are proud to be a part of this significant lighthouse project. By providing our engineering and project management consultancy (PMC) services to this unique venture, we can contribute to the energy transition. Hydrogen plays a crucial role in transforming our energy system, and we are convinced it is key to a sustainable future.”

ILF has signed a contract with Gasgrid Vetyverkot Oy, which was founded to promote the development of the Finnish hydrogen network, international infrastructure cooperation and the hydrogen market in Finland and the surrounding area.
The contract includes the basic design for a hydrogen transmission pipeline (approx. 23 km long) in Finland, along with a compressor station and related infrastructure. In addition, ILF will support the client in obtaining the necessary permits and agreements in consultation with local institutions.

The pipeline will transport hydrogen produced at the Kemira Oyj’s plant in Joutseno to the Ovako Imatra Oy Ab’s steel mill in Imatra.
This is the first hydrogen transmission project that extends beyond an industrial site.

The project will enable the implementation of the first complete hydrogen value chain in Finland, from electricity to hydrogen produced as a by-product in the chemical industry and to the end products of the green steel industry.

This will be the first step towards the development of domestic and international hydrogen-based markets and hydrogen transmission infrastructure.

As part of the engineering consortium ʺIngenieurgemeinschaft Fernbahntunnel Frankfurt am Mainʺ, ILF has been tasked with designing/producing the preliminary design for a new tunnel and new underground station for long-distance traffic beneath Frankfurt’s terminus station. ILF is significantly involved in the technical design of the tunnel structures, emergency exits and bifurcation structures in connection with the underground station.

Once the future tunnel has been commissioned and goes into operation, the majority of long-distance trains will be able to approach the new station through the tunnel. This will not only eliminate the bottlenecks at Frankfurt’s existing main station, but will also allow local and regional public transport to flow more smoothly into the main station, as well as enable the expansion of local and regional public transport services as required.

Of the three corridors examined in the feasibility study, the Southern Corridor was the corridor option to be chosen. The advantage of this option is that the future tunnel can be connected to the existing railway lines in the direction of Hanau at two separate points. These connections will mean that all trains heading in this direction will be able to run at optimum capacity, and traffic can be better distributed over the existing routes. To the West, the tunnel will be connected to the planned third Niederrad Bridge.

Further information on the project can be found at https://www.fernbahntunnel-frankfurt.de

Shell has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Ministry of Energy in Kazakhstan to help Kazakhstan achieve its energy transition targets. Under this memorandum, Shell has implemented the ʺSolar for Schoolsʺ initiative at the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS), which has involved the installment of grid-connected solar PV systems at five schools across Kazakhstan.

Shell contracted ILF as an Owner’s Engineer to supervise all the technical aspects of this project. This supervision has involved performing the following tasks:

• • Providing support with project development
  • Conducting a study to assess the economic benefits of the solar PV installations
  • Providing support with the EPC tender
  • Assisting with EPC engineering and pre-construction activities
  • Providing support with EPC construction and commissioning

The installed PV systems cover up to 30% of the schools’ annual electricity consumption and feed any surplus electricity that is generated by the system into the municipal grid, generating significant savings. In addition, the project aims to encourage and promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education among younger generations and to raise awareness of the benefits and new opportunities associated with the use of renewable energy.

The first school to benefit from this project was the NIS School of Physics and Mathematics in Astana in 2018. Now, in 2023, the last of the five schools has received its PV system.

The ILF teams in Kazakhstan and Germany combined their global solar expertise and knowledge of local standards and regulations and are proud to have led this project to success.

The Gemeinschaftskraftwerk Weerbach (GKW) Hydropower Plant was inaugurated at the end of June.
​​​​The GKW Hydropower Plant uses the natural hydraulic power of the Weerbach stream. Water is fed via a water intake structure, located at around 1,500 masl, and an approximately 4-km-long penstock, to the power house, located at around 1,100 masl. At the power house, a Pelton turbine with a capacity of 1.7 MW generates around 7.5 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, which is fed into two grids via a 25 kV and/or 10 kV transmission line.

After flowing through the turbine, the water is fed into the intake of the downstream hydropower plant, where it is used once again to generate electricity. A second option would be to discharge the water leaving the turbine directly into the Weerbach stream so that the GKW Hydropower Plant can also be operated independently of the existing downstream hydropower plant.

In the residual flow section at the GKW Hydropower Plant, discharge into the Weerbach stream is varied as ecological flow to ensure compliance with ecological requirements and to maintain the hydrological and environmental balance in accordance with the granted permit.

The short construction period of around one year is remarkable and was only possible thanks to the extremely cooperative relationship between all those involved.
We are proud to have been able to successfully complete our work on this complex project, and warmly congratulate all those involved.

Za’atari Camp is located in the Jordanian desert, about 10 km west of the city of Al Mafraq. Since its establishment in 2012, the camp has developed into an urban settlement, and is currently home to about 80,000 people, most of them refugees who have fled from the civil war in their home country of Syria. While the sanitation system in the camp has gradually evolved over time with the provision of a camp-wide sewer system and a wastewater treatment plant, the sludge management currently practiced is based on the transportation of liquid sludge over long distances by trucks and sludge disposal in remote areas.

In 2022, ILF was contracted to provide consulting services aimed at improving sludge management in Za’atari Refugee camp in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective manner. This multi-donor action is jointly co-financed by the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis (EUTF Syria) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and is being implemented by GIZ. Under the contract, ILF and its local partner Engicon have produced three main deliverables: 1) a Pre-Feasibility Study, 2) a Feasibility Study and 3) Tender Documents for Consulting Services covering the Conceptual Design, Tendering and Construction Supervision.

The objective of the preliminary studies was to establish baseline conditions and data, identify and evaluate options for sludge management, and select the preferred option. The preferred option that was selected was greenhouse sludge drying in conjunction with a series of upstream sludge treatment facilities at the existing wastewater treatment plant. Consultations and workshops with stakeholders were critical to the decision-making process regarding selection of the preferred sludge management option.

We would like to thank all stakeholders (including the EU, the German government, GIZ, UNICEF, UNHCR, WAJ, Yarmouk Water Company, Oxfam and the FAO amongst others) for their joint support in this assignment and wish them every success for the implementation of the project!

ILF Consulting Engineers has always been deeply involved in the design and management of projects involving storage tanks. It is therefore no surprise that, in recent years, the team at ILF Romania has been working on a project involving a large capacity crude oil storage tank – providing services from the design phase through to the construction management and supervision phase. The crude oil storage tank at the center of the complex project, which started several years ago with a solution and capacity selection study, has a capacity of 60,000 m³ and has been designed based on one of the safest storage solutions in the oil and gas industry in terms of environmental impact and operational safety.

This Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) project, entrusted to ILF Consulting Engineers in Romania since the feasibility phase, has now reached the construction phase (half of the construction period has already passed) and is already showing some quite impressive results.

The design currently being realized has been developed up to the detailed designed phase, and for that the whole team has produced a complete set of documentation including workshop drawings for every detail.

The tank has a double shell and a double bottom, a full contact internal floating cover, which fulfills the role of retaining at least 98% of the vapor emissions, and a fixed aluminum dome cover. The outer shell replaces the retention basin, and the double bottom enables possible leaks to be monitored.
The tank is also equipped with a product heating system (steam coil), a homogenization system (3 mixers on the inner shell) and a system for product sampling at certain levels.

In this context, Adrian Stoica (General Manager of ILF in Romania) would like to express his special thanks to the entire team of ILF Romania for the excellent engagement and dedication during this project.

The preparation of specifications for wastewater treatment will benefit the people of Saudi Arabia for years to come and is in line with the Kingdom’s strategy to provide water and wastewater treatment services of the highest quality. The decision to implement high-quality solutions that meet the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s water management needs is a major step towards Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 regarding water quality, sustainability and environmental protection.

The National Water Company (NWC) has commissioned ILF to develop the following documents:

• • Technical Specifications
  • Design Manual Guideline – for the wastewater system, sewage pumping stations, force (pressure) mains & TSE network
  • Typical drawings/data sheets for mechanical, electrical & control, automation & integration philosophy

The specifications shall consider a number of criteria related to the infrastructure’s ability to ensure operational efficiency. Preparation of such specifications involves assessing the extent to which they can ensure high output performance, a certain redundancy configuration, durability and maintainability. The specifications are also being developed to ensure the required level of safety throughout the infrastructure’s operational life.

Infrastructure Projects: Stakeholder involvement as an important piece in the puzzle

And how are things progressing with SuedLink, one of Germany’s biggest energy transition projects?
The first works on the route corridor are scheduled to begin in autumn 2024, so that by 2028, electricity will be able to flow from the wind farms in northern Germany to the major centers of consumption in southern Germany.
Today, energy transition projects with complex and long-term impacts on society, the environment and economy are reliant on the early involvement of stakeholders. Participatory processes (stakeholder engagement) are immensely important for the successful implementation of this major infrastructure project. The engagement process for SuedLink was therefore on TenneT and TransnetBW’s (the project developers’) agenda from the very beginning, with the aim of integrating landowner’s and the local community’s concerns. During project preparation and development for the southern permit application section E2 – Baden-Württemberg – iterative dialogues with stakeholders were held on two occasions. In the course of submitting the permit application documents in March 2023, six discussions were also held in a third round of dialogues with affected individuals, communities, companies and municipalities in Baden-Württemberg. By engaging in these comprehensive dialogues at such an early stage, potential conflicts can be identified, concerns can be raised, and, finally, joint solutions can be found. ILF Consulting Engineers is engaging in dialogues with clients and is supporting the dialogues with owners with the help of knowledge carriers from various technical departments.

The Zurich Northern Bypass is one of the busiest sections of motorway in Switzerland and is reaching its capacity limits. An expansion of the Northern bypass and the construction of a third tunnel tube in the Gubrist Tunnel shall accommodate increased traffic volumes. The third tube has now been opened and traffic is travelling through this new third tube of the Gubrist Tunnel.

Together with WSP Ingenieure AG and Amberg Engineering, ILF is in charge of the tunnel ventilation and thus plays a major role in the expansion of the Zurich Northern Bypass. Tunnel ventilation is a key safety component in a road tunnel and allows tunnel users to escape safely from the tunnel in the event of a fire. The tunnel ventilation system in the third tube of the Gubrist Tunnel consists of 4 exhaust air fans, 34 dampers, 12 jet fans, various ventilation sensors, 179 control cabinets and more than 80 km of cable.

With the completion of the new third tube, refurbishment of the two old tunnel tubes of the Gubrist Tunnel can now start.

In Norway, the Norwegian Public Road Administration, Statens Vegvesen, is currently building the E39 Rogfast Project. This project, located North of Stavanger, involves the construction of the twin-tube Boknafjord Tunnel, which, when complete, will be the longest and deepest undersea road tunnel in the world being 26.7 km long and 390 m below sea level at its deepest point.

In addition, the Rogfast Project has been selected by Statens Vegvesen as a pilot project to help reach their CO2 targets through the use of electric-powered heavy construction machinery. Statens Vegvesen has commissioned a consortium consisting of ILF Consulting Engineers in Norway, ILF Consulting Engineers in Austria, Graz University of Technology (Austria) and Sovik Consulting (Norway) to carry out a risk assessment for the use of electric-powered vehicles, commonly referred to as Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV s), in the E39 Rogfast Project.

The aim of this study is primarily to investigate potential fire risks associated with the use of battery-powered heavy vehicles for the transportation of excavated rock.
These fire hazards could arise, for example, from overloading during heavy use or from recharging the vehicles. The impact of these vehicles on the construction process and their practical implementation will also be investigated.
With delivery of this service, the consortium is making a targeted contribution to one of the largest tunnel projects ever to be built in Norway and to the sustainability of tunnelling in general.

A significant milestone has been reached for the DolWin4 and BorWin4 offshore grid connection systems.

DolWin4 and BorWin4 connect the large wind farms in the North Sea with the onshore transmission grid. The connection points are located in North-West Germany and the onshore connections are planned to be implemented as underground cables.

The project developer Amprion GmbH has taken an important step towards obtaining a building permit by submitting the application for official plan approval. For the southernmost section of the onshore route of the two grid connection systems, all documents have been submitted to the respective authorities on time. This paves the way for the next steps and brings the project developer closer to receiving the final decision from the approval authority.

ILF significantly contributed to the success of this project with the timely delivery of the technical design. The fact that the schedule was successfully met, at all times, is the result of all project parties cooperating very effectively with each other and the trust built up between the service provider and client.
We look forward to continuing to assist the project developer, applying our expertise in this project.

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.

The National Water Company (NWC) of Saudi Arabia is addressing the problem of high salinity levels in the drinking water in six cities in the Eastern region of the country through a new program. The NWC plans to construct transmission lines with a total length of 520 km, 21 pumping stations and 42 storage tanks. In addition, the overall network will be extended to serve new areas and old pipelines will be replaced to reduce water losses.

An additional 420,000 m³/day of water is needed from alternative sources before all of the existing groundwater wells which have high salinity levels can be closed, and to cater for the future demand of 1,370,000 m³/day. This additional water will be supplied by the Saline Water Conversion Company (SWCC KSA) in Saudi Arabia.

The NWC has entrusted ILF with the project management, construction supervision, and  design review services for this program – the currently biggest urban water supply program in Saudi Arabia.

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.

Currently under construction, this section forms part of the Feeder Line North of the Brenner Base Tunnel which is 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 50,000m3/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