Vandebron and TenneT
Vandebron is a sustainable energy supplier based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. They offer an ‘energy marketplace’ where individuals and companies are able to sell their sustainably-generated energy directly to consumers. The idea arose when founders Wilcke, Guichelaar and van Veller wondered why they were not able to buy their electricity directly from a windmill owner. Thanks to Vandebron, it is possible to choose your own sustainable local or non-local energy source.
Transition to sustainable energy supply
Vandebron’s ambitions go beyond connecting consumers to producers; the company wants to play an important role in the transition to an autonomous and sustainable energy supply. That is why Vandebron started offering a ‘total package’ of charging services to EV drivers in order to accelerate the energy transition in 2017. The ‘Electric mobility’ branch of Vandebron was set up specifically for this purpose.
Drive electric | Smart charging
Most electric cars are still charged inflexibly. This means that when the car is plugged in, it immediately loads at maximum power until the car is fully charged. This does not take electricity prices into account. Moreover, the current supply of solar and wind generated energy is not taken into account either. As a result, the charging of electric cars exerts an even greater pressure on the energy infrastructure, which is already being overburdened by the growth of fluctuating renewable energy sources. With their ‘Smart charging’ service, Vandebron wants to intelligently utilise the battery capacity of electric cars. When there is more supply than demand for energy, EV charging will be paused and vice versa. The smart charging of EVs is a technological challenge and requires much-needed R&D advancements.
Vandebron awarded Topsector Energie, Urban Energy grant
In 2017, Vandebron conducted research together with TenneT and IBM into the deployment of blockchain technology to increase the number of players on the balancing market (balance between energy supply and demand). EV batteries hold great unexploited potential to contribute to the balancing acts of the energy system. To accomplish this, Vandebron has been developing their Smart Energy Platform. By using this platform, Vandebron is able to control the charging of EVs in an aggregated manner. This allows them to provide flexibility to the network through active call-out by TenneT, via the blockchain, in the event of an imbalance.
In cooperation with Hezelburcht, Vandebron and TenneT applied for a Topsector Energie Grant (TSE). The awarded Urban Energy grant opens up the possibility of an accelerated development of this innovative IT solution. This smart solution is being tested and demonstrated through a pilot programme. Hezelburcht supervised the entire grant application process.
Hezelburcht’s specialists are capable of absorbing lots of knowledge in a short period of time in order to accurately explain things in the grant application. Their energy expertise makes them a welcome cooperation partner for innovation projects in the energy market. - Farday van der Galiën, Head of Electric Mobility, Vandebron
