Hengelo, The Netherlands. 3 September, 2020.
Amersfoort-based electric charging infrastructure company Floading is bringing 130 electric buses to Hengelo where they will be adapted for use in The Netherlands.
The commission is part of the largest order yet for electric buses in Europe. Overijssel, Flevoland and Gelderland have commissioned a fleet of 246 BYD buses for delivery this year. Typically, electric buses are sold in smaller quantities of eight to 10 buses.
“We have been a partner of the world’s largest electric bus manufacturer BYD for some time now. We operate internationally and have recently supplied charging points for e-city buses in a number of European countries including Hungary and Sweden,” said Arnaud van der Sluis, CEO, Floading.
The first six buses have already arrived at the Eaton site in Hengelo and more will arrive in the coming weeks. Sub-contractors will undertake the conversion work within facilities rented by clean energy conglomerate Koolen Industries. The head contractor is Dutch firm Bluekens Truck en Bus. Floading, a Koolen Industries company, will provide on-site charging infrastructure for the buses and assist with the conversion of the busses.
It will take several days to convert each of the 12-metres-long e-buses. In Hengelo, the busses will be checked, cleaned and repaired if necessary. The air conditioning systems will be filled, software updates will be installed and the charging infrastructure will be tested. The busses will then be fitted with the correct livery and license plates, along with Dutch public transportation equipment.
“This assignment is the next step in our collaboration with BYD and we expect that we will soon be helping more European countries transition to clean energy in public transport,” said van der Sluis.
Location Eaton Hengelo a logical choice
Koolen Industries has been an investor in Floading from the very beginning and has already rented a hall at the Eaton site for its subsidiary SmartGrid, which makes energy storage systems and develops and produces its energy storage containers on the Eaton site. The buses will be converted on the premises.
Floading’s technical engineers work closely together with other companies in the Koolen Industries group, so the Eaton location in Hengelo is a logical choice for Floading and the ideal location to carry out this assignment for BYD.
“Enabling cooperation between specialist companies in the clean energy field will speed up the transition to clean energy, while also offering unique opportunities for the Twente region,” said Kees Koolen, CEO Koolen Industries.
“Koolen Industries will play a leading role as we set out to tackle shared challenges, such as poor air quality and climate change. In doing so, we not only contribute to achieving emissions reductions, but we also create new, green jobs.
“We expect our companies to grow quickly to meet the challenges posed by ever-stricter emission targets in Europe. We chose Twente as our main base because we work closely with the University of Twente and because Hengelo has good connections to our European clients.”
The Hengelo-site is right in the middle of a triangle connecting Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg.
About Floading
Floading is a service provider specialising in smart charging solutions for electric cars, buses, trucks and virtually any vehicle using a battery. The smart charging infrastructure that Floading has developed ensures that the e-buses can charge cost-effectively during night and day. One of Floading’s clients is the world’s largest producer of electric busses: BYD. BYD supplies the 246 e-buses for Gelderland, Flevoland and Overijssel, which is the largest electric bus order in Europe.
About Koolen Industries
The mission of Koolen Industries is to enable everyone to contribute to and participate in the energy transition. Generating clean energy from wind and the sun, and developing solutions that store, transport and deliver this energy, we provide consumers with an autonomous life that is independent of the grid.
Koolen Industries invests in and builds a group of companies that together will make sure renewable energy will always be available, whenever and wherever it is needed. Reliable and safe. Made possible by ingenious software.
Since its inception in 2019, Koolen Industries has brought a number of company into the fold. These include solar panel installations company BonGo Solar, lithium battery maker Super B, energy storage company Smart Grid, flow battery developer Elestor, green ammonia company Proton Ventures, cloud-based mobile energy storage platform provider Skoon Energy, mobile energy storage with solar panels company GreenBattery, electric charging infrastructure firm Floading Energy, AI robotics company Aziobot, Hardt Hyperloop, and EIT InnoEnergy, which invests in sustainable energy start-ups across Europe.