The 4.9m-diameter Herrenknecht mixshield TBM passed its Factory Acceptance Test in July and is now ready for assembly at the launch site in Wewelsfleth in Schleswig-Holstein.
ARGE Tunnel Elbx, comprising Porr and Wayss and Freytag, will operate the TBM to bore a 5.2km-long tunnel under the River Elbe. The river crossing is part of the Suedlink grid expansion project that will transport electricity over 700km from Brunsbüttel in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany, to Großgartach in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany. The transmission system operators are Teneet and Transnet.
After passing its FAT, the TBM was disassembled and transported by ship from Herrenknecht’s factory in Schwanau to northern Germany, and then by heavy load transport for the final 2km.
The diameter of the TBM allowed the cutterhead to be delivered as a complete component.
The TBM was designed to meet the challenges of geology of clay, peat, sand, and gravel as well as stones and boulders.
