Sustainable Mobility in Zuidas

Challenge for the future

The advent of electric mobility is inevitable and has an instrumental role to play in reducing CO2 emissions. While business and industry as well as regional and local authorities are working hard to shape a more sustainable future, areas like Zuidas face daunting challenges. One of the main obstacles is the limited capacity of the national electrical grid. Melissa Kooke, concept development manager at D&B The Facility Group, explains: “Our objective is a fully electric fleet by 2030, in line with our ambition to reduce our CO2 emissions by fifty per cent relative to 2019. Not only we have this objective, many others will recognize this ambitious goal. However, local communities as well as the Zuidas, face serious infrastructural challenges to reach this goal.

Power grid capacity problems

As more and more electric vehicles take to the roads, the power grid is struggling to keep up with rising demand for EV charging stations. “The grids in Amsterdam and Zuidas, especially, are reaching a ceiling”, Kooke says. “Because of the capacity limits, we think that by 2025 some parts of the city won’t be able to accommodate any additional charging points.” This is bad news for companies striving to achieve sustainability targets, like a fully electric vehicle fleet. Though there are intelligent solutions, such as ‘smart charging’, which aligns charging speeds to energy availability and could alleviate the problem somewhat, electricity demand still exceeds electricity supply. Which means government and industry have to go in search of alternatives.

D&B’s solution: Charge & Ride

To lighten the load on the electrical grid, D&B The Mobility Group (part of D&B The Facility Group) has launched a new service concept called Charge & Ride. As well as providing charging facilities, the Charge & Ride service includes a Valet Charger who charges the EV’s and with the help of smart technology they optimize the charging proces. Kooke: “Charge & Ride enables us to maximise access to charging stations despite network limitations.” By aligning peak times in energy demand, The Mobility Group optimizes the charging capacity from 200% to 280%.

Parking shortages

Not only is charging capacity limited, there is also a shortage of parking. The City of Amsterdam has been reducing the number of parking spaces, even for electric vehicles, to make room for bicycle storage facilities and green zones. This is making it extra difficult for employers in Zuidas to enable their workers to make sustainable mobility choices. Kooke says that “the reduction in parking spaces combined with the llimitation of charging facilities means we face a double dilemma.”

Collaborating for a sustainable future

In spite of these obstacles, D&B The Facility Group is pushing ahead to realise its sustainability ambitions. Cutting carbon emissions and fleet electrification are essential steps towards achieving the climate targets in the Paris Agreement, aimed at keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Collaboration is crucial, says Kooke. “Innovative thinking and partnerships will be key to solving grid infrastructure and capacity problems. Charge & Ride is a step in the right direction, but we also need support from government to prepare the power grid for future demand.”

Elevating Workplaces with D&B’s Service

D&B The Mobility Group is part of Multi Service Provider D&B The Facility Group. Kooke: “In addition to mobility services, D&B also provides Hospitality, Security, Food & Beverage, and Cleaning services to ambitious corporates and high-end real estate in cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Amersfoort, and Eindhoven. D&B continues to focus on enhancing quality and employee well-being in leading work environments.

How does Charge & Ride work?

When going to charge their vehicles, employees or office users are directed to a charging station and hand their car keys over to the driver, the Valet Charger. The Valet Charger plugs the vehicle into the charging station. When the vehicle is charged fully or up to an agreed range, our Valet Charger moves it to a regular parking space on site or in the car park. This frees up a connection for the next vehicle, which our Valet Charger moves to the charging station. When the employee or office user leaves after work or at any other point in the day, they can collect their car key from our Valet Charger, who directs them to where their vehicle is parked.

This article is published earlier in Hello Zuidas.

Over D&B The Mobility Group:

D&B The Mobility Group is gevestigd in Amstelveen. Als aanbieder van mobiliteitsdiensten verzorgt D&B al meer dan 25 jaar onder andere chauffeursdiensten in de vorm van een studentchauffeur / privé chauffeur, valet parking service, shuttle services, parkeerbegeleiding en verkeersregelaars. Regelmatig neemt D&B alle mobiliteit rondom een evenement of project van A tot Z volledig uit handen.