Skip to main content

The Dutch revolution in smart EV charging

By turning itself into one huge Living Lab for Smart Charging of electric vehicles, the Netherlands aims to become the international frontrunner for smart charging EVs, using them to store peak solar and wind power production. Already 325 municipalities, including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague, have joined the Dutch Living Lab Smart Charging project, representing 80 per cent of all public charging stations. It is also supported by the Dutch government and has been joined by some The New Motion
October 18, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
By turning itself into one huge Living Lab for Smart Charging of electric vehicles, the Netherlands aims to become the international frontrunner for smart charging EVs, using them to store peak solar and wind power production. Already 325 municipalities, including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague, have joined the Dutch Living Lab Smart Charging project, representing 80 per cent of all public charging stations. It is also supported by the Dutch government and has been joined by some The New Motion and EV-Box EV charging companies.

The Living Lab Smart Charging is an open platform where small and large companies, universities, local and regional governments and grid operators cooperate on a three step program.

Step 1 is to make as many charging stations as possible ready for Smart Charging. An upgrade operation is now taking place across the country to ensure existing charging stations will be technically able to facilitate smart charging. All new stations are already smart charging ready.

Step 2 uses those stations for smart charging research and testing, such as the app by Jedlix which allows users to earn money by using technology to charge a car in the middle of the night when the wind is still producing power but there is little demand for the power. In Utrecht, Renault is testing 'vehicle to grid' charging, using an electric car with solar panels as storage to put power back into the grid when the sun goes down.

Step 3 puts all the innovation, tests and research findings into international standards, with the ultimate goal of all electric cars driving on solar and wind power.

Related Content

  • Dutch ministers plan large-scale road testing of self-driving cars
    June 18, 2014
    Self-driving cars could appear on Dutch roads before long as the government is preparing regulations that will make large-scale public testing legal. According to Minister for Infrastructure and the Environment Melanie Schultz van Haegen who made the proposal, the age of self-driving cars has arrived and she wants the country to be ready to play a leading international role in the innovation: “Self-driving cars will make a positive contribution to the flow of traffic and to the safety of our busy road ne
  • EVs stir interest but face obstacles – IBM study
    May 18, 2012
    Many automobile industry executives believe that sales of traditional vehicles will peak before 2020 and are looking to electric-only vehicles (EVs) as one of the next hot products, but they will first have to address stringent consumer requirements about EV performance, recharging, and convenience, according to a new IBM survey of consumer attitudes and a recent study of auto industry executives.
  • HeERO - harmonising e-Call across Europe
    March 1, 2013
    The second stage of the EC’s HeERO project, which aims to address some of the issues surrounding the eCall system, has just got underway. Jason Barnes reports. As the European Commission (EC)’s Har­monised eCall European Pilot (HeERO) project progresses into its second stage, ‘HeERO 2’, significant progress has already been made in addressing the technological and institutional issues relating to the pan-European deployment of an eCall system based around the new ‘112’ universal emergency telephone number.
  • Swarco: ‘Everyone’s running after buzzwords’
    April 1, 2019
    The ITS world finds itself in a time of great change. Swarco’s Michael Schuch talks to Adam Hill about connectivity, the increasing importance of the end user – and why you shouldn’t leave your core business behind