With the slogan 'together, smart, reinforcing,' the dike between Tiel and Waardenburg in the Netherlands is being reinforced by the joint venture Mekante Diek over a length of approximately 19 kilometres. Key in the approach is the search for sustainable solutions with all the parties involved. ArcelorMittal Projects has been involved from an early stage to find optimisations in sheet pile usage, with great success. It is also the first project in the Netherlands where the EcoSheetPile™ Plus is used, a sheet pile produced from scrap, using 100% green electricity.

Shortly after being awarded with the project, ArcelorMittal Projects joined the design team of Mekante Diek to explore optimisations in sheet pile usage. Steel sheet piles are well-suited for such dike reinforcement projects as they eliminate two failure mechanisms (piping and macro-instability) in one go. The early collaboration primarily aims to reduce the total weight of the sheet pile solution because less steel in the ground not only results in cost savings but also a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, thus making it more sustainable and attractive than other possible solutions.

Besides weight optimisation, ArcelorMittal Projects also makes a significant contribution to the project's sustainability. For the first time in the Netherlands, we are producing and delivering our EcoSheetPile™ Plus sheet piles. Just like with the regular EcoSheetPile™, the steel in the Plus variant is produced in an electric arc furnace from approximately 100% scrap. This fact alone leads to a much lower environmental impact of 427 kg CO2 per ton compared to steel from a blast furnace, which accounts for approximately 2,000-2,500 kg CO2 per ton. With the EcoSheetPile™ Plus, we also guarantee that the steel is manufactured using 100% green energy, further reducing the impact to 359 kg CO2 per ton.

Environmental Product Declarations

For both variants of the EcoSheetPile™, new EPD’s for the Dutch market have been available since April 2023. Because the early involvement with Mekante Diek's design team, the EcoSheetPile™ Plus were offered ahead of the EPD publication. This allowed Mekante Diek to work with very favourable values of approximately +/- 50 kg CO2 per m2 of wall. That truly makes a significant difference. Additionally, the most sustainable transportation possible is ensured. The sheet piles are transported from the factory in Luxembourg to the project site by inland vessels. ArcelorMittal has delivered approximately 5,000 tons so far, with an additional 4000 tons to be added in 2024. However, the entire project comprises 18,000 tons of EcoSheetPile™ Plus, predominantly AZ24-700 sheet piles ranging from 12 to 18 meters. The remaining tonnage will be delivered and installed in phases until 2025.

Depending on the local situation, the sheet piles are installed by either vibrating or pressing. The motto is: vibrate where possible, press where necessary. Not everything is predetermined. In certain sections along the project, the method of sheet pile installation is determined on-site during execution. For these locations, the sheet piles are provided in such a way that they can be installed using both methods. Another excellent example of the ‘together, smart, reinforcing’ approach.