ElaadNL Foundation is working on a test lab in Arnhem to facilitate companies in their research into charging electric vehicles. In the test lab, in addition to passenger cars, trucks and buses can also be tested and various types of tests can be carried out.
ElaadNL, the knowledge and innovation center of the joint Dutch grid operators, expects to be able to start using the new test lab from 1 September. The facility will be located in Arnhem and will offer space for electric trucks and buses in addition to passenger cars. The test lab should ultimately ensure that innovations in the field of electric vehicles find their way to the market more quickly. Car manufacturers, manufacturers of charging equipment and energy suppliers can come together here to ultimately better coordinate their products and services. This also includes tests of the entire chain with regard to ICT and, for example, the feeding back of electricity by EVs to the energy grid. Cyber ​​security is also a spearhead.
The province of Gelderland and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management will co-finance the test center. State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven is pleased with the arrival of the lab. “This center will be a nursery where green innovations see the light of day,” she says. “This benefits our business and ultimately all of us. Clean air, more green jobs and less CO2.” The ElaadNL Foundation has been working since 2011 to improve the charging infrastructure in the Netherlands. In addition, the foundation publishes the National Charging Survey, which examines which improvements EV drivers need most. Last year’s survey showed that EV drivers would like to be better informed about charging rates, as well as about the occupancy and charging speed of charging points. From 1 July 2021, charging operators are obliged to share this information by virtue of the ‘Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Decree and Regulation’.