The Green Aggregate

Playing a prominent role together in the necessary energy transition

A rapid energy transition from diesel to electric is taking place at construction sites, infra and festivals. Generators play an important role at these locations to provide easy and efficient access to power. The former diesel generators had major disadvantages; high diesel consumption with all its environmental drawbacks and they caused a lot of noise pollution. Very annoying for both employees and the environment. De Groene Aggregaat has unleashed a new revolution in this area with its hybrid generators. Sustainable, quiet and cost-saving. Together with partners Intercel and Rittal, further optimization took place and this is their story.

An interview with Paul Robbers of The Green Aggregate, Diek Wechgelaar of Intercel and Theo Gerritzen of Rittal.

What was the challenge you took on together?

Paul – The Green Aggregate
“It was about our model 100. The total battery system is 100 kWh per container, our flagship at the moment. Now we even supply aggregates up to 500 kWh. We had several difficulties with the batteries we used before. We wanted to take a big step toward maturity of the product and provide a genset that has ample capacity with minimum failures. In the limited space of the container, the capacity had to be doubled, a challenging customization process.”

Diek – Intercel
“We started a precise process to first analyze exactly what problems needed to be solved. Lithium batteries are perfectly suited for this environment, they deliver the optimum power and with the right housing can withstand the rough environment on a construction site or at an event very well. We also quickly saw that space for the batteries was not an issue. We used to work with 12 batteries, which we were able to reduce to 6. This provides more capacity and saves a tremendous amount of space.”

Theo – Rittal
“We were involved by Intercel early in the process. Our philosophy is to always use standard cabinets and assemble them exactly to size. Cabling, inverters and chargers should all be given the optimal place in such a high-end device. To be able to be mounted exactly in such a way as to create a robust setup that is not affected by vibration, shock and rough use on often unpaved terrain. Lithium batteries need extra attention when it comes to vibrations and we have found a unique solution for that.”

Hard work and above all fine cooperation

Theo Gerritzen, Rittal

How did they work together and where were the pain points?

Paul – The Green Aggregate
“Real pain points were not experienced. We immediately worked as a close-knit team of super specialists and we were able to move forward quickly. Intercel offers short lines of communication and immediately had the right answers to the questions we had. In the construction process, additional attention was asked for temperature changes that may occur outside and inside the container.”

Diek – Intercel
“In addition to building the right custom battery, we were also able to assist in further unburdening The Green Aggregate. We took much of the production and assembly work off the hands of De Groene Aggregaat. This reduces their production time and increases the uptime of the aggregates. Temperature changes are not a factor in every project but we were able to overcome this very well with the right engineering from Rittal.”

Theo – Rittal
“It was an exciting project and very rewarding. An aggregate is a special machine used in challenging places. We worked together great throughout, inspiring each other and transferring relevant knowledge to each other. Hard work and above all nice cooperation.”

What does it provide?

Paul – The Green Aggregate
“Our customers need power and we rent it. As easy as possible with the push of a button there is power at challenging locations. For the end user, this delivers a lot: diesel savings, quiet operation and a sustainable solution. Remote monitoring also allows us to provide immediate assistance and quick service. In addition, the solution is vandalism proof. Last but not least, our hybrid solution saves up to 90% on diesel usage.”

Diek – Intercel
“We are extremely proud that with our Cell to Pack philosophy based on Lithium batteries, we were able to future-proof this machine. The addition of solar collectors by The Green Aggregate has added a wonderful feature that allows the batteries to be charged every day on site as well. The pace of collaboration was also exceptional. A big project that we completed in just a few months.”

Theo – Rittal
“We want our customers to have long-term success. This means that we develop and deliver exactly the right product for the required application. It can be cabinets, power distribution but also the correct application of IT and of course first-class service. Our cooperation has led to process optimization, which also means significant sustainability.”