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

  • Connected Vehicles test vehicle to vehicle applications
    January 19, 2012
    In the US, the ITS Joint Program Office is about to conduct a series of Driver Clinics intended to gauge public reaction to Connected Vehicle safety technologies and applications. Starting in August, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) will test Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) applications with everyday drivers in what it describes as 'normal operational scenarios'. These Driver Clinics are being carried out at six locations across the US and together with the subsequent model deployment beginning in 2012,
    Read More
  • Kurtis McBride, Miovision: 'Digitalisation opens up opportunity'
    April 26, 2023
    Kurtis McBride, Miovision co-founder and CEO, talks about the importance of data – and why one bit of hardware capable of running a range of software solutions could be the future of transportation
    Read More
  • New Mersey crossing ends Halton’s congestion misery
    December 5, 2017
    Plagued by intolerable congestion but denied government funding for its solution, tiny Halton Borough Council relentlessly pursued its vision and achieved what many believed impossible. Halton may be a small local authority in north west England, but it had a big traffic problem. However, as the road, or more particularly the bridge, involved was not deemed a strategic route, central government would not commission or even fund a solution - a problem that many other local authorities will recognise.
    Read More
  • Plastic is fantastic for payment platform interoperability
    April 2, 2014
    The Sino Visitor Pass aims to promote trade between Singapore and China by making travel easier, as Jon Masters finds out. Singapore has notched up another first in transportation innovation with announcement of a dual-currency payment card in partnership with the province of Guangdong in China. From the middle of 2014, visitors to Singapore and Guangdong will be able to use a ‘Sino Visitor Pass’ to pay for use of public transportation among other things.
    Read More

Highlighted Content