Eiffage Énergie Systèmes Belux expands MV capacity for an IKEA logistics centre

In all the Swedish group’s buildings, gas boilers – which provide heating and hot water – are to be phased out in favour of more environmentally friendly heat pumps. However, in Genk, Belgium’s main logistics hub, studies have shown that the available power would not suffice We therefore had to install a 2,000 kVA transformer, connected to a new 3,200 LV main distribution board. “This was a project carried out entirely by Eiffage Énergie Systèmes Belux, involving an increase in power capacity at medium-voltage level. We took care of everything: the MV and LV systems, as well as the switchboards,” explained Project Manager Arnaud Flawinne.

A job well done.

Our teams built the LV distribution board in-house and prepared it in the workshop. On the delivery day, a fully prefabricated HV switchgear cabinet was hoisted into place using a crane in the earthworks area prepared in advance, and then fitted with the power transformers, switchgear cabinets and LV distribution board. The busbar connecting the transformer to the main LV switchboard was installed after the roof had been completed. A total of twelve heat pumps were connected on the roof, on either side of the control room: six 110 kW water-to-water heat pumps on one side and six 240 kW air-to-water heat pumps on the other. The logistics centre roof is covered with a waterproof EPDM membrane, making it difficult to walk on to lay the cables and impossible to place the cable drum there. The 265 metres of cable trays, along with 900 metres of cable, were hoisted onto the roof using a crane. Favourable weather conditions enabled our experts to install everything in just four days.

A risk averted

The project deadline was set for the end of August, to ensure that the heat pump installers would have time to carry out all the tests and then set up the building’s control systems before the first frosts set in. A generator supplied power to the building (consuming 14,000 litres of fuel oil in a week) to avoid any disruption to services during the switchover. While the earthworks were being carried out, a sewer pipe was discovered running across the worksite. It had to be diverted by several tens of metres over the course of a weekend, as the site operates 24 hours a day. “Close coordination between the medium-voltage and cabling teams and the workshop enabled us to overcome all the technical challenges. This synergy really made all the difference,” emphasised Arnaud Flawinne.

A strategic project

In Belgium, IKEA has already commissioned Eiffage Énergie Systèmes Belux to handle the extension of its Arlon store in 2024, as well as carrying out regular work at some of its eight shops across the country. This medium-voltage power expansion at a major logistics centre paves the way for new opportunities, which our experts intend to capitalise on by bidding for forthcoming tenders. It is also part of Eiffage Énergie Systèmes Belux’s strategy to break into new markets in Flanders.