Bird’s-eye view of an asphalt mixing plant

Green pioneers

Hydrogen burners in Norwegian asphalt production

The clock is ticking – and the countdown to climate neutrality by 2045 is now ever-present. Benninghoven offers a wide choice of future-proof technologies to drive sustainability in the asphalt industry while securing the basis for existence that businesses need to survive. First and foremost among these is the world’s first burner that can be fueled using 100% green hydrogen. This innovation is setting new standards for maximum eco-friendliness in asphalt production.

Leading by example in this industry is construction company Veidekke, which is pioneering the use of hydrogen as a fuel to produce asphalt. In contrast to many other businesses, this Norwegian firm – which already occupies a top spot in the country’s climate index – is already best-placed to meet tomorrow’s challenges today. How well-prepared for the future is your company?

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An innovative industrial adventure

It’s the first time in history that asphalt has been produced without creating any greenhouse gas emissions. Veidekke and Benninghoven are proving that this is possible.

Latest burner technology

Thanks to its advanced features, the new MULTI JET burner generation from Benninghoven is able to utilize a total of four different fuels at the same time – including hydrogen. These fuels can have any physical state: solid, liquid, or gaseous.

MULTI JET Control

The new burner control MULTI JET Control is optimized to ensure on-the-fly switching between the fuels without any downtime – i.e. without the plant needing to be shut down first – as well as simultaneous mixed firing using a variety of energy sources.

View of a burner
Shot of a burner
A look at the new MULTI JET burner control
View of a burner
Shot of a burner
A look at the new MULTI JET burner control
View of a burner
Shot of a burner
A look at the new MULTI JET burner control

On the road to climate neutrality in the construction industry

Working more efficiently with sustainable and economical technologies is the opportunity and challenge of our modern age. It’s no secret that the construction industry is responsible for around 40% of global carbon emissions. This is why Veidekke wasted no time in acknowledging its own operations as part of the problem that urgently needed addressing. Accepting no ifs or buts, the Norwegian company simply decided to become fully climate-neutral by 2045 and is proactively engaged in ensuring it achieves this goal.

The Scandinavian company is facing the challenge on the one hand of reducing its own emissions wherever possible. On the other hand, the firm is keen to use its own domain expertise and competencies to reduce the ecological footprint of its customers and suppliers. In two joint projects between the Norwegian company and Benninghoven, the multi-fuel burner MULTI JET also played an important role. “Veidekke is choosing this path because, as a construction company, we are firmly convinced that if we act to the best of our abilities we can make the world a better place,” says Eddie Heggard Engebretsen, Senior Project Lead at Veidekke.

Eddie Heggard Engebretsen, Senior Project Manager at Veidekke Industri AS, wearing construction site clothing, smiles happily at the camera.

“Veidekke is promoting ‘prudent performance.’ We want to help the planet with climate-friendly solutions. This is why we see social and ecological change as an opportunity to make the most of our innovative corporate culture and engineering competencies. Together with our customers and suppliers, we will be taking on an active role in climate change with the aim of solving key challenges and helping to shape a better future. Hydrogen burners from Benninghoven are a huge help here.”

Eddie Heggard Engebretsen, Senior Project Manager at Veidekke Industri AS

Gas line with the label “hydrogen”

Pinning our hopes on hydrogen:

potential, challenges, and outlook

“As I see it, hydrogen is the only real solution – and not just in Norway but all over the world,” says Engebretsen, who is managing the hydrogen project. “Here in the far north, there’s plenty of green energy being generated by hydropower. Overall, however, I have to say that availability is still lagging behind, despite the enormous potential. In my opinion, it can only be a question of time before this is understood, and given the proper framework of funding and subsidies.”

Green hydrogen is currently considered the most sustainable fuel available and therefore the key to a successful energy transition. Hydrogen produces no greenhouse gases and its high energy density makes it ideal for thermal processes. According to recent research, hydrogen will exhibit a significant price advantage versus fossil fuels in the future – as no carbon emissions occur and it is therefore not subject to carbon taxation.

However, plant owners who want to use hydrogen as an energy source are still faced with a limited infrastructure in many areas. Benninghoven is already using its network to support customers in meeting this challenge.

The hydrogen burner system from Benninghoven marks an important milestone in asphalt production, offering a pioneering solution for more sustainable road construction. The world’s first burner that can be run with 100% green hydrogen enables virtually zero-emission asphalt production. This technological innovation is crucial to achieve a substantial reduction in road construction carbon emissions, which account for up to 45% of overall emissions.

Don’t wait – future-proof your business today!

Despite the current limited availability of hydrogen, businesses should not delay but take proactive steps to make the change. Investing in the new multi-fuel burner generation from Benninghoven means taking a low-risk step into the future. These burners are already pre-equipped for use with hydrogen and can be activated flexibly once appropriate for the respective premises and business case – and simply at the touch of a button, without losing valuable time.

Flexible end-to-end solution from Benninghoven

Benninghoven has developed an optimally adapted end-to-end solution for material drying, which for the first time enables customers to use the new burner generation and therefore to deploy up to 100% green hydrogen to run their plant. The perfectly coordinated hydrogen drying system consists of a multi-fuel burner, an intelligent burner control, a feed system with a patented pressure control section, and other plant components that are specifically adapted to the use of hydrogen. The pressure control section reduces the hydrogen for the burner from 350 bar to the required 1.3 barA. This end-to-end solution connects directly to the hydrogen source, flexibly incorporating different supply units like trailers, pipeline networks, or remote electrolyzers.

The hydrogen burner system from Benninghoven marks an important milestone in asphalt production, offering a pioneering solution for more sustainable road construction. The world’s first burner that can be run with 100% green hydrogen enables virtually zero-emission asphalt production. This technological innovation is crucial to achieve a substantial reduction in road construction carbon emissions, which account for up to 45% of overall emissions. Alongside reducing carbon emissions, NOx emissions are also an important factor to consider when using hydrogen as a fuel. The Benninghoven system also includes an exhaust gas return (EGR) that guarantees low NOx emissions.

Looking at the full road construction lifecycle, asphalt mixing plants are responsible for 45% of all carbon emissions in this cycle. The electrical energy required, plus the energy for running the wheel loaders, is virtually negligible. Ultimately, 41% is attributable to the combustion process, which means the burner is the most significant parameter for reducing these emissions.

Benefits and advantages for customers

Alongside the positive environmental footprint, asphalt producers benefit from great flexibility for fuel selection. The option of using multiple fuels enables plant operators to respond to both the availability of energy sources and developments in their pricing. Carbon taxation in particular will significantly impact pricing in the future.

This system guarantees a reliable supply with various fuels, and offers plant operators a high degree of flexibility when selecting the most cost-effective and most easily available energy sources. This, in turn, significantly reduces plant operating costs.

Conversion is possible at any time

Both new and existing asphalt mixing plants can be equipped with burner technologies from Benninghoven. This is even true of plants from third-party manufacturers – and Veidekke itself is also using the burner in a plant from a third-party supplier. This gives plant owners the opportunity to change to the latest technologies at any time – a key aspect for achieving economical and sustainable asphalt production, and securing the site’s long-term future.

“In the past, we ran some analyses of how our processes could reduce their carbon emissions as fast as possible. For asphalt installation itself, we found we’d be likely to achieve reductions today of just 3%. But the story is very different in asphalt production, where we can already use hydrogen to reduce emissions by as much as 40%. This is why we started working with the prototype from Benninghoven in Kristiansund back in 2023.”

Veidekke’s plant in Ålesund with the MULTI JET burner has been operational since October 2023. Thanks to the Benninghoven burner, Veidekke has already managed to reduce its carbon emissions by 40%. A step in the right direction: from 2030, lawmakers in Norway will require a reduction of at least 65% and this target will rise to a full 100% by 2045.

From study to prototype and pilot – and beyond

In fall 2021, the hydrogen project was initiated between Benninghoven and Veidekke. In the first phase of the project study, the two companies worked to analyze both the general technical conditions as well as costs and potential, with the aim of using this conceptual phase to determine the steps needed to use hydrogen at the plant. An initial strategy for incorporating a hydrogen system and the associated burner was developed, which was then fleshed out with the help of simulations. The results of simulations are only as good as the underlying assumptions made, however. For this reason, the design phase included a detailed design strategy for the burner and the associated process tools.

MULTI JET burner: burner test bench Benninghoven – everything starts here.

Innovation from the alliance between Veidekke and Benninghoven

Although the first test for the burner was planned for early 2023, Veidekke discovered that there were no feed systems available which were capable of supplying the burner with the required volume of hydrogen. However, this problem was solved by trials at Benninghoven. This gave the green light for a field test in Norway.

Installation in Kristiansund in October 2023 presented its own challenges, with subzero temperatures and freezing rain. Once assembly was complete, however, the burner ran with zero issues from the outset. In the meantime, the plant has produced several thousand tons of asphalt with hydrogen.

The plant in Ålesund has also been running since 2024. The aim here was to validate the process and verify that reliable results could be achieved even under changed process conditions. This step was decisive for achieving production qualification.

Veidekke isn’t stopping at Kristiansund and Ålesund, however: its next hydrogen-fired plant will already be going online in 2025.

Commissioning

First burner in Kristiansund.

First asphalt plant in the world to use hydrogen

“This fall, thanks to the little industrial adventure in our asphalt plant in Kristiansund, we manufactured 3,000 tons of asphalt using only green hydrogen as the energy source.”

Øivind Larsen, CEO Veidekke Infrastrukture and Martin Traeholt Holmqvist, Director Veidekke Asfalt

A group of people in construction site gear perform burner commissioning.
Øivind Larsen, CEO Veidekke Infrastrukture and Martin Traeholt Holmqvist, Director Veidekke Asfalt, smile into the camera, both wearing construction site clothing.

“We have a total of 25 plants in Norway and several are from Benninghoven. We consider Benninghoven to be a highly competent partner for our mission. Since the commissioning of the MULTI JET burner, we’ve already manufactured several thousand tons of asphalt using only hydrogen as a zero-emission energy source.”

Eddie Heggard Engebretsen, Senior Project Manager at Veidekke Industri AS

Benninghoven is revolutionizing asphalt production with advanced burner technology

To limit anthropogenic climate change and global heating to 1.5 °C, climate neutrality needs to be achieved within all of our social and economic activities. Construction companies in particular face immense challenges here. But they also have amazing opportunities, thanks to modern technologies. Benninghoven is a world market leader in burners for asphalt mixing plants and a manufacturer of multi-fuel burners with up to four fuels. With its strong ecological perspective and unique know-how gained from no less than 70 years of experience in burner design, the company is able to develop unique burners with excellent properties like the MULTI JET.

The hydrogen drying system from Benninghoven is a crucial factor for achieving significant reductions in carbon emissions and therefore making a decisive contribution towards more economical, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly asphalt production. The combination of technical progress and flexibility in burner usage while also complying with environmental standards is the key to creating a sustainable road-building industry.

A burner in front of a blurred background.
NEW
Is the clock ticking louder in your company?

Find out more about burner technology from Benninghoven! By the by: our multi-fuel burner, which will be capable of using up to 100% hydrogen as a fuel, will be available for bauma 2025 as a standard product.

A decisive step towards greater cost-effectiveness and sustainability in asphalt production: as well as improved environmental performance and compliance with environmental regulations, plant operators also benefit from a significant reduction in operating costs and long-term site security.

Veidekke wins 2024 Climate Prize

All made possible by Benninghoven technology: on October 24, 2024, Veidekke was rewarded for its work on hydrogen-produced asphalt with the Climate Prize.

“The winner adopted an impressive strategy of analyzing its own emissions while also working actively to cut emissions within its industry as a whole. In explaining their pick, the jury highlighted the winner’s forward-thinking approach and its readiness to consider new solutions. The winner has set a standard that other companies throughout the wider economy should look up to,” said Ole Erik Almlid, CEO of NHO, during the award ceremony.

The winner is therefore an inspiration for any business in any sector.

*Image source: https://zero.no/veidekke-vant-naeringslivets-klimapris/

The index for 2024 was drawn up by financial auditing and consulting company PwC, and focuses on Norway’s biggest corporations and their restructuring work in relation to climate targets. To take a top spot in the PwC survey, businesses need to have reduced their annual emissions by an average of 7% over the last three years. Just 18 of Norway’s 100 largest firms have managed to reduce their emissions in line with the provisions of the Paris Agreement. Alongside Veidekke, only three other companies managed to reduce both absolute emissions as well as their carbon intensity.

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