Online lecture about energy storage and accelerating the energy transition

May 2023 Rijkswaterstaat (department Water, Traffic and Environment) gave an online lecture about research on energy storage and accelerating the energy transition. One of the main reasons for conducting this research is the implementation of the major renovation project for 7 tunnels in the Netherlands. For this project, several questions had to be answered before making the right decisions for the power supply for the coming decades.

At the end of 2022 the Dutch Rijkswaterstaat* assigned the research institute TNO to study the possibilities of energy storage for tunnels in the main road infrastructure in the Netherlands. Recently TNO completed its report. Because  Dutch Rijkswaterstaat believes the energy transition is an international challenge, they would like to share the results with  European colleagues on this subject. 
*Rijkswaterstaat is part of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and responsible for the design, construction, management and maintenance of the main infrastructure facilities in the Netherlands.

Interesting findings for you
The research led to interesting findings on the possibilities and limitations of energy neutrality (in combination with renewable electricity production), the increase of tunnel autonomy, and the likely reduction of net congestion. Also, the use of energy storage (battery) to ‘make money’ in the electricity market, thereby impacting the business case positively, was taken into consideration.

Societal matters are the subject of the ongoing debate as well, like what role should Dutch Rijkswaterstaat (or your organization) play in the energy transition? How important is tunnel autonomy (a still operating tunnel when cut from the grid) from an asset owner’s point of view? And does our organization have a role in decreasing net congestion? One of the main reasons to conduct this study at this moment is the execution of the large renovation project for 7 tunnels in the Netherlands. For this project, several questions needed to be answered before making the right decisions in power supply for the next decades.

Agenda online lecture
• Introduction and context: 7 tunnels in the Netherlands that will be renovated – Mr. Johan Naber, Rijkswaterstaat (10 min)
• Main results of the study of the possibilities of energy storage for tunnels – Dr. Harry van der Weijde / Mr. Pieter Verstraten, TNO (30 min)
• Questions/Discussion (20 min)

>> Download presentation Applications on energy storage in tunnels (pdf, 5 MB)