Almost everyone knows it: the Europabrücke on the Brenner autobahn in Tyrol. A start-up from Berlin has now attached mini wind turbines to its pillars.
Patsch – Tuesday at the Europa Bridge near Patsch (Innsbruck Land district) in Austria: while the columns of trucks thunder up and down the Brenner Autobahn on the road above, two fitters rope down the bridge piers over the Sillbach gorge. The highest of these is 146.5 meters high, and deep down in the gorge it is even 190 meters to the banks of the Sill.
Europa Bridge in Austria: assembly work over the abyss
Professional industrial climbers are installing eight mini turbines at a height of 140 meters above the ground. Drilling, dowelling, screwing, laying cables over the abyss – the fitters know it, they laugh at the photo into the camera. They hang from a maintenance sled that can be rolled back and forth under the roadway.
The Austrian toll motorway operator ASFINAG is testing the turbines with the Berlin start-up MOEWA GmbH – a spin-off from the Technical University of Berlin. The start-up has developed a modular wind energy system that is based on the Lego principle and can also be used on radio masts.
Europabrücke on the Brenner autobahn: mini-turbines supply electricity for a single-family home
Asfinag’s wind measurements had shown that micro wind turbines on the pillars could make sense. Thanks to the data from the wind measurement at the Europa Bridge, Asfinag assumes that the system with a nominal output of four kilowatts will supply energy in the order of around 5000 kilowatt hours – that is theoretically enough for a larger single-family house. For comparison: one of the almost 7,000 articulated lorries that drive across the bridge every day has an engine with an output of over 350 kilowatts.
That’s why Asfinag now relies on CO2-saving wind power: “We use this clean energy directly on site for the toll station near Patsch,” says a press release. Furthermore: “If there is an overlap, excess electrical energy is fed back into the grid.” They are already working with photovoltaics and small hydroelectric power plants.
In the smoldering transit dispute over the Brenner, Tyrol’s FPÖ boss Markus Abwerzger recently called a motorway blockade as an option.
Europe bridge on the Brenner autobahn in Austria: The example could set a precedent worldwide
The mini-turbines on the Europabrücke are a test: “The pilot project will give us essential information as to the extent to which we can use these micro-wind turbines on our bridges throughout Austria in the future,” explains Asfinag Managing Director Stefan Siegele. Other bridges in Tyrol and Vorarlberg are already being investigated as additional locations for the mini turbines.
“Even more important, however, will be the experience and knowledge gained in real operations in order to examine a possible roll-out of turbines on bridge piers,” Siegele continues. Other countries could also be interested in the bridge turbines.
Austria: The days of the bridge are numbered
The Europa Bridge was inaugurated on November 17, 1963 after three and a half years of construction. It spans the Wipptal, in which the Sill flows towards Innsbruck. 23 people died during construction. The 815 meter long structure was the highest bridge in the world for ten years after its completion and is still the highest in Austria today.
The reinforced concrete pillars are hollow, as is the superstructure. Eleven million cars and 2.4 million trucks drove across the five-lane bridge in 2022. Since 1984, pedestrians have also been able to use the Europa Bridge, which has two walkways on the left and right. Bungee jumping is also offered. However, the days of the bridge are numbered: ASFINAG is planning a new building, which is planned for the years 2040 to 2044.
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