GPS-Buddy wins Connekt tender for more realistic nitrogen figures
GPS-Buddy won the tender issued by Connekt and Topsector Logistiek. The assignment: to map how much nitrogen construction machinery actually emits in practice. The calculation method that was standard at the time relied on little real-world data. As a result, the picture of actual emissions remained limited. To sharpen that picture, measurements were taken at the exhaust of the machines. The result: a new calculation method. How it came about and what GPS-Buddy contributed is covered in this article.
Why measurements are taken
Many construction projects get stuck on the nitrogen issue. The Netherlands is densely populated and has a relatively large number of Natura 2000 areas. When construction takes place near such an area, the nitrogen deposition on it may not exceed a certain limit. If it does exceed that limit, this can have consequences for the nature permit. TNO draws up the national calculation method used to determine this deposition, but that method was based on a limited amount of real-world data. Whether it gave an accurate picture of what machines actually emit in the field was therefore an open question. To investigate this, Connekt and Topsector Logistiek set up a measurement programme and issued a tender for it. GPS-Buddy won this tender. Measurements were then carried out in practice on hundreds of construction machines. The programme falls under Schoon en Emissieloos Bouwen (Clean and Emission-free Construction), the national approach of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.
GPS-Buddy as measurement partner
As the measurement partner, GPS-Buddy played a key role in this project. On hundreds of machines we recorded the engine data via the CAN bus: fuel consumption, operating hours and engine load. For the heaviest machines, known as supermachines, we went a step further. There we installed technically advanced sensors in the exhaust and the air intake, allowing us to measure NOx emissions directly at the source. This requires in-depth knowledge of measurement technology and of the engines themselves, and GPS-Buddy is one of the few parties in Europe with this expertise fully in-house. Together, this delivered a more accurate picture of real-world emissions.
A new calculation method
The measurements show that the actual nitrogen emissions of construction machines are on average around 40 percent lower than the old AUB method with standard values (6 percent AdBlue) predicted, with outliers of up to 90 percent. Based on these real-world measurements, a new calculation method has been developed, which TNO has set out in the manual (TNO 2026 R10854). This method matches practice up to 64 percent better. Exactly how it calculates is explained as part of the measurement programme. This has consequences for permits: projects that previously exceeded the deposition limit in AERIUS may now remain below it. Those projects can then still go ahead.
Room for construction projects
For the construction sector, this means more room. Permit applications now rest on figures that are closer to practice. For GPS-Buddy, it confirms our role as a measurement partner: converting data from machines into usable insights, from the construction site to the national calculation rules. We use that same knowledge in Flowter to provide a well-founded estimate of the emissions of a vehicle or machine fleet, with a calculation method that aligns with that of TNO.
This article describes a situation in the Netherlands and is based in part on information from Meetprogramma Mobiele Werktuigen & Bouwlogistiek, TNO, Schoon en Emissieloos Bouwen and AERIUS. For the most up-to-date information, please consult the official sources. Situations may change. No rights can be derived from this article.