Drilling for renewable energy
T.A. Brunnsborrning from Knivsta, Sweden, is specialized in rock heating, solar energy and water well drilling and installations. Working in remote locations, the company requires large, high-pressure mobile compressors for their drilling jobs. Diesel, however, is on its way out in Sweden, one of the Scandinavian countries that has stepped up its battle against climate change. Luckily, Atlas Copco’s Stage V engines are all certified to run on pure HVO, a fossil-free, carbon-neutral fuel.
Scandinavia is not just slowly transitioning towards a greener society; it has made a complete U-turn. Fossil fuels are becoming a thing of the past. In Knivsta, just outside Stockholm, Sweden, T.A. Brunnsborrning & VVS is handling a geothermal drilling project. Geothermal energy is a renewable type of energy. Hot water is pumped from the sub-surface of the earth, into a power plant that generates clean electricity. The cooled water is then sent back into the earth, forming a closed and infinite loop of clean and reliable energy.
Renewable energy is the only type of energy for Sweden and that also holds true for off-road equipment, such as the compressors required for drilling. Geothermal installations require holes with a depth of 200 meters, which can only be achieved with a large 35 bar compressor such as a Y35. Obviously, when drilling remotely, it’s hard to find a plug that can feed an electric compressor and therefore, T.A. Brunnsborrning & VVS still had to rely on an Atlas Copco diesel compressor. Luckily, they can just fuel these Stage V machine with a carbon-neutral fuel.
The most recent machine we have acquired is a Y35. It’s a Stage V machine which we can refuel with HVO diesel. That’s much better for the climate and we’re happy to contribute with the latest technology
HVO – fuel of the future
HVO is the secret ingredient to drilling deep holes and, at the same time, meeting Sweden’s stringent emission regulations and demands for a reduced carbon footprint. This new generation of biodiesel has the same characteristics as diesel, but it is carbon neutral. It’s made from recycled products. And it also burns cleaner than diesel does, so NOx and particulate matter emissions are lower as well. In Sweden, HVO is just available at the fueling station.
A DrillAir: smart and economical
There are more reasons why a DrillAir compressor is the perfect tool for heavy drilling jobs. First, they have an excellent-fuel efficiency, with hardware and software contributing to low fuel consumptions. The on-board controller is easy to use, but at the same time, the operator has plenty of options to adapt the flow and pressure to the exact needs of the drill job. A DrillAir is carefully designed to drill faster, saving time and money. A DrillAir Stage V adds sustainability in the mix, with an HVO-certified engine that allows our Swedish customers to turn their DrillAir into a carbon-neutral compressor.
