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

  • America explores road user charging options
    November 27, 2017
    Jack Opiola casts an eye over the numerous road user charging pilots underway in the US. In the USA, congestion mitigation and improving mobility have often focused on network improvements, increased road capacity, improved public transport, high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes or ‘express lanes’ and ITS measures – all of which require political capital and major funding. Nowadays, political capital is as hard to obtain as funding because more political leaders are recognising the decline of fuel excise tax in
    Read More
  • Latest barrier innovations from Saferoads
    March 10, 2014
    Australian company Saferoads will use Intertraffic Amsterdam 2014 to release what it says are unique products to the European and American market – the Ironman Hybrid portable safety barrier system, the Omni Stop energy absorbing bollard, and the Safepole impact absorbing light pole. Standout feature of the Ironman Hybrid is that it is a ballasted portable steel barrier, tested to 100km/h, that requires no anchoring. Saferoads says it delivers the deflection performance of concrete with the durability a
    Read More
  • Bright shiny green future: Asecap Sustainability Forum
    August 30, 2023
    Knowing your company’s carbon footprint is one thing, but the real issue is understanding and reporting to investors Scope 3 emissions. David Arminas reports from the 2nd Asecap Sustainability Forum in Vienna, Austria
    Read More
  • Near-fit technology can provide the solution - just ask the question.
    August 19, 2015
    When a company launches a product it never quite knows how that product will be used and what else it may be required to do. Lufft’s mobile weather sensor MARWIS is a prime example. Last winter Lufft introduced MARWIS, its mobile road weather sensor, handing it initially to long-term sales partners to test and improve. What was known was the sensor’s fast reaction rate (up to 100 Hertz), combined with its wide range of measurement information, and would provide users with a gapless overview of the road stat
    Read More

Highlighted Content