“Electrical building blocks for the future laid”

The drop in Campine's logo refers to the smelting furnace, which is still at the heart of the Kempen-based company's activities. When it was founded in 1899, it smelted lead from ore. Over time, Campine opted for waste as its main raw material, specifically car batteries. Circularity before it was trendy. A path on which it continues to strive for broader recovery and higher valorization. To ensure the reliable operation of old and new installations, it invested in the renewal of its high- and low-voltage grid. ATS proved itself to be a partner for the future during the works.

At Campine, industrial waste streams are reduced in order to create new raw materials. A dedicated team at the Beerse site dismantles lead-acid car batteries to recover valuable metals. But a battery consists of more than just lead. Campine is the only company in the world that directly converts the antimony present into antimony trioxide and material for flame-retardant applications. This sustainable waste processing reduces the waste mountain and makes Campine a prominent player in the circular economy. "Lead is still our core business," says Dirk Van Briel, who is responsible for engineering and project follow-up. "Over the years, we have developed new processes to go even further in the recovery of materials present in car batteries. We process these into semi-finished products that our partners can use."

Double your assets

These new processes led to significant growth in activities in Beerse. In order to guarantee sufficient energy for and reliable operation of all installations, it was necessary to upgrade the high- and low-voltage grid. Campine wanted to more than double the capacity. "In addition, we wanted to bring the electrical installations fully up to date with the current state of the art in terms of technology and regulations in order to guarantee safe operation. Finally, we also wanted to take the opportunity to prepare everything for the use of renewable energy. There are plans for solar panels and a wind turbine to provide our own energy and become CO2 neutral," Van Briel summarizes the main reasons for the investment.

Three-phase master plan for electricity

This resulted in a master plan for electricity that would make Campine's high- and low-voltage grid completely future-proof in three phases. Project manager Wouter Vandenbroeck: "The production site in Beerse is actually divided into three zones (west, central, and east), each of which is powered by a substation. We maintained that structure for the work. East was first on the schedule, as that was where the need for extra power was most urgent due to the addition of new installations." The engineering was done entirely in-house, and Campine was also responsible for the hardware. "That was important for the standardization we strive for to make operations easier and safer for all employees," adds Vandenbroeck. "But we could use some reinforcement for the actual implementation. After all, the conversion had to be completed during the summer break."

Good preparation is crucial

ATS Antwerp had already proven itself to be a skilled partner in previous work on the site. "We had confidence in them. What's more, their price was very competitive," says Van Briel. The first conversion was scheduled for 2019. "Good preparation was crucial. In advance, we pulled all the cables and cable ladders from the substation to the main consumers, so that when production stopped, we could concentrate on transferring everything. That involved a lot of work: removing the old high-voltage cells, installing a new technical floor, reconnecting all the new cables in the field and in the cabin, and removing the old ones," summarizes ATS Antwerp project manager Stijn Antheunis. ATS also assisted Campine with the inspection of the new installations.

Tight coordination

This meant that, summer break or not, the site was buzzing with activity. Coordinating and monitoring all the work in detail was no easy task. To keep everything running smoothly, they were able to count on site manager Danny Bosman from ATS Antwerp. "We had the advantage of being able to copy the working method used at the first station to the other two. This meant that the following year, we were able to anticipate what had not gone entirely smoothly. This was an advantage because, due to the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, we had to contend with long delivery times for materials. This meant there was little time for engineering in between, as the order had to be placed in no time." In total, ATS Antwerp laid more than 8 km of power cables, 2 km of medium-voltage cables, 1 km of cable ladders, and almost 100 m² of new flooring.

Engineering and implementation of new front cabin

Phase three (west) also had an added bonus. In consultation with the network operator, it was decided to install a new head cabin at the same time for more efficient operation. "Since this is a matter that requires very specific expertise, we entrusted the engineering and implementation entirely to ATS," says Vandenbroeck. Controlled drilling ensured that the connections from the head cabin to the various substations found their way flawlessly through the underground traffic. Then it was up to ATS subsidiary APS to provide the blow tube and fiber connections, amounting to 1 km of fiber optic cable. And that was not the only example of teamwork. ATS Technics took care of the fencing to shield the transformers and cable bridges where necessary.

Working more safely

The result is a redundant system that will be easy to expand in the future. "We have laid the electrical building blocks for the coming years. The switching method has become much clearer and safer," says Vandenbroeck. "ATS really took care of everything for us throughout the entire process," adds Van Briel, "which was no easy feat. Based on our engineering and their expertise, they prepared and put together the puzzle without too many additional questions. With the utmost respect for safety. There were no incidents and no violations were found during the inspection, so our installations were always able to restart at the planned time. We now see ATS as a permanent partner."