"We are building a blueprint for the future of electric charging."

With Charging Energy Hubs, Dutch companies, knowledge institutions and governments are joining forces to make electric freight transport faster, more efficient and more affordable. By smartly linking solar energy, batteries and charging stations, they make optimal use of the electricity grid and create flexibility during peak loads. This not only reduces the operational costs of e-trucks, for example, but also opens up new revenue models and smart trading in the energy market. 

Unique to the project is the collaboration within a consortium of 27 companies, including Eindhoven University of Technology, Heliox and TNO. Three pilot locations act as a test environment for a scalable approach. The project will run until 2028 and is co-financed by the National Growth Fund. Tim van 't Wel, project leader at ElaadNL and Sander Drissen, Director Innovation at Scholt Energy, play an important role in the project. How do they ensure that this innovation not only works, but also becomes widely applicable?

Smart systems for an efficient energy future

One of the biggest challenges for electric freight transport is the limited grid capacity. Without smart solutions, companies would have to build new infrastructure on a large scale, a costly and time-consuming operation. Charging Energy Hubs takes a different approach by using existing energy in a smarter way. 

"Many charging stations now work on the basis of acute power demand: plug in and charge," Drissen explains. "We want a system that thinks ahead and plans. By combining data from transport planning, energy prices and grid capacity, we can use batteries smartly and absorb peaks. In this way, we avoid unnecessary costs and ensure that companies always have access to the necessary energy." Van 't Wel adds: "A surplus of generated solar energy can be stored in batteries and used at peak times. This prevents waste and reduces costs for companies. And more importantly, it prevents overloading the electricity grid, which is a major challenge at the moment." 

In addition, Drissen emphasizes the importance of cost efficiency. "With our solution, we are aiming for cost savings of 30 to 40 percent. We achieve this not only by charging more efficiently, but also by purchasing the energy smartly and using it at the right times. Think of cheap grid power during off-peak hours or the use of renewable fuel units." Another key to success is standardization. "Many energy projects are location-specific, but we are working on a scalable model that can be applied everywhere," says van 't Wel. "We want to develop a 'plug-and-play' system instead of customization per location."

"This way we learn along the way and make adjustments where necessary. That is the power of a practice-oriented approach."
Sander Drissen (Scholt Energy)

Adjust along the way

The innovations are being tested at three pilot locations with different energy challenges. Van 't Wel: "The first is TSN Groen, a distribution company with electric delivery vans, solar panels and batteries. The hub must ensure optimal energy use with minimal impact on the electricity grid. The second location is a public charging plaza, similar to a gas station, but for electric trucks. This charging plaza will be equipped with solar panels and batteries to support the charging process. The last pilot location is a logistics company with its own site, where several companies share energy together and make smart use of available capacity."

"We not only want to test technology, but also show how companies can charge smarter in practice. We do this by starting with the logistics companies. We are rolling out the other pilots step by step," Drissen adds: "This way we learn along the way and make adjustments where necessary. That is the power of a practice-oriented approach."

Time to build

The first year of the project was dominated by research and architectural development. Now it's time for the next step: building and testing. "We have determined what is needed, which markets we serve and how the systems work together," says Drissen. "Now we are going to build." With thirty partners and multiple work packages, collaboration is essential and not without challenges. "It's always a balance between what you arrange centrally and what you tackle in smaller working groups," says Drissen. "You work faster in small groups, but in the end everything has to fit into the bigger picture." The systems will be developed in the coming years, followed by two years of pilots. "This is a learning process," says Drissen. "We expect new insights along the way and apply them immediately."

"If this model works, companies can easily adopt it and together we will accelerate the energy transition."
Tim van ’t Wel (ElaadNL)

Working together on the energy transition

The ultimate goal of Charging Energy Hubs is a scalable solution that can be applied not only in the Netherlands, but also internationally. "We want to show that smart charging infrastructure is technically possible, economically attractive and easily scalable," says van 't Wel. "If this model works, companies can easily adopt it and together we will accelerate the energy transition." Drissen underlines the importance of collaboration: "The success of this project depends on partners investing in the future. The more companies and governments participate, the faster we can achieve a more sustainable logistics sector."

Knowledge sharing plays a key role in this. "By making our insights public, we hope to inspire others to set up similar initiatives," says van 't Wel. "We are building a blueprint for the future of electric charging." 

Charging Energy Hubs is more than an experiment; it is a vision of how the Netherlands deals with electric charging. By working smartly, efficiently and future-oriented, electric freight transport will not only become possible, but also the standard.