Groningen drives e-mobility forward with a collaborative project with Dutch and German entities. Charging self-propelled shuttles and e-bikes plays a central role.

Original Article by Innovation Origins, Written by Elcke Vels, to read detailed article please click  Here

 

Self-driving transport in Groningen must reach a higher level. The INTERREG project Kontaktlo(o)s Laden is gaining experience with plug-free charging of e-bikes and self-driving shuttles. The Province of Groningen in the Netherlands is cooperating with the German company INTIS, among others. “The system works well. In the coming years we will see more projects involving self-driving shuttles and autonomous charging,” says project leader Hindrik de Haan of the Province of Groningen.

Groningen has been working with Fryslân and Drenthe for five years on various projects concerning self-driving transport to maintain and improve accessibility and livability in the shrinking regions. The large-scale application of self-driving transport in the northern provinces is coming a step closer. This is thanks in part to the new charging system, in which the shuttle charges using a system similar to an induction stove. No more human intervention is required. “Almost all aspects of the shuttles which previously ran in Scheemda, Eemshaven and Loppersum are autonomous, except for having to plug them in,” says De Haan. “Contact-free charging is the final step towards a fully automatic system.”

The charging project for the self-driving shuttle in Groningen is part of an overarching project in which 11 SME companies are collaborating. The province of Drenthe and Emsland (Germany) are also participating. The project is supported by European funding. Within the province, work is being done on the development of various charging systems with different capacities. The German company INTIS supplies both inductive charging for large capacities for the autonomous shuttle and small capacities for e-bikes. Together with the other project partners, inductive charging will be built into the systems of both the e-bike and self-driving shuttle.

 

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