The TBM that will build the ECLUSE 2 project’s Scheldt tunnel has arrived in Antwerp.
The 1.28km-long tunnel will form an essential link under the Scheldt river for ECLUSE’s expanding sustainable steam supply and will be Belgium’s longest microtunnel.
ECLUSE is an industrial steam network that valorises energy from the waste-to-energy plants of Indaver and SLECO in Doel. ECLUSE is currently supplying steam to five companies on the left bank of the Waasland Port. The new Scheldt tunnel will enable renewable energy to be supplied to companies on the right bank, starting with chemical company Evonik Antwerp. This will reduce Evonik’s reliance on natural gas and cut its annual CO2 emissions by 100,000-150,000 tonnes.
The ECLUSE tunnel is a collaboration between private and public partners: Indaver, SLECO, FINEG, Maatschappij Linkerscheldeoever, Port of Antwerp-Bruges and Water-Link and with the support of the Flemish government. The works are being undertaken by K-Boringen and Jan de Nul.
The micro TBM has a 4m diameter and the tunnel will be formed by 322 pipes with an outer diameter of 3.8m. The tunnel will also provide space for a central maintenance path and additional capacity for future pipes and cables. In a follow-up phase, a shorter tunnel will be drilled in the direction of Evonik.
The TBM will be launched at the end of this month and drilling is expected to be completed in the summer. Once it has completed work on the Scheldt tunnel, the TBM will be brought back to the drive shaft on the right bank to start drilling in the direction of Evonik. The piping and technical tunnel equipment will be installed following the drilling of the microtunnel.
The entire project is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2026.
