SolaRoad opens in the Netherlands

The world’s first solar powered cycle road officially opens today along the N203 at Krommenie, north-west of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Developed by TNO, the Province of North-Holland, Ooms Civiel and Imtech Traffic&Infra, the SolaRoad pilot project is a road surface that acts as a solar panel, converting sunlight into electricity.
November 12, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Construction of the Solar Road
The world’s first solar powered cycle road officially opens today along the N203 at  Krommenie, north-west of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Developed by 7087 TNO, the Province of North-Holland, Ooms Civiel and 769 Imtech Traffic&Infra, the SolaRoad pilot project is a road surface that acts as a solar panel, converting sunlight into electricity.

The 100 metre road consists of prefabricated concrete slabs each 2.5 by 3.5 metres. Crystalline silicon solar cells are installed in one travel direction underneath a one cm thick tempered glass top layer, which has to be translucent to let sunlight pass through, yet also provide a safe, skid-resistant surface. No solar cells are fitted in the opposite direction, which will be used to test various alternative road surfaces during the trial.

During the three-year trial period, various measurements will be taken and tests performed to see how the road behaves in practice, what it is like to cycle over and the amount of energy it produces. Future plans using the solar power generated by the road will be used for practical applications in street lighting, traffic systems, households and, ultimately, electric cars, which would drive on the surface.
Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • San Francisco plans express lane network across Bay Area
    February 25, 2015
    Colin Sowman looks at plans to convert 240km (150 miles) of HOV/car pool lanes. While some authorities have debated the conversion of high occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV) into express or managed lanes allowing toll paying single-occupant vehicles to avoid congestion, San Francisco’s Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) has acted. It is converting 240km (150 miles) of HOV/car pool lanes to express lanes and last fall the MTC’s Bay Area Infrastructure Financing Authority selected TransCore to d
    Read More
  • Improved safety with Snoline’s latest reflective tapes
    March 26, 2014
    Two new temporary road marking tapes are being offered by safety specialist Snoline. Part of Lindsay Transportation Solutions, Snoline says that its new Tempoline and Profiline products are easy to install and offer high conspicuity.
    Read More
  • Delivering accurate vehicle identification
    August 1, 2012
    In the Netherlands, TNO, the independent research organisation, has been engaged in a project on behalf of the RDW, the Dutch vehicle registration and licensing authority, intended to look at the feasibility of using electronic means to make vehicle identification more accurate and less susceptible to fraud. Electronic Vehicle Identification (EVI) has been in existence in various forms for several years now but TNO was tasked with finding out whether OnBoard Unit (OBU)-based applications could be complement
    Read More
  • Phoenix rises to the Smart City challenge
    December 10, 2015
    Andrew Bardin Williams looks at the City of Phoenix where voters backed a $30bn plan to revamp its transportation network to cultivate a more connected community. According to a Land Use Institute study, half of all Americans and even more millennials (63%) would like to live in a place where they do not need to use a car very often. The City of Phoenix is putting in place plans to revamp its urban development and transportation policies to meet these changing quality of life perceptions.
    Read More

Highlighted Content