ElaadNL

ElaadNL is the knowledge and innovation centre for smart charging of the joint Dutch grid operators: Stedin, Liander, Enexis, Coteq, Rendo and Westland Infra. Its mission is that everyone can charge smart, so that electric cars use the grid well and run on the power of sun and wind. In its Test Lab in Arnhem, manufacturers from around the world test how their cars, trucks and buses charge.

ElaadNL helped write the rules that charging runs on worldwide. The Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), the common language between charging stations and their management systems, was designed in 2009 at ElaadNL's request and first published by ElaadNL. ElaadNL then co-founded the Open Charge Alliance to look after it, and in 2024 the International Electrotechnical Commission adopted OCPP 2.0.1 as the international standard IEC 63584.

For NEON, ElaadNL was both a network partner and a source of expertise. Grid operators have to look at least forty years ahead, because cables and transformers last that long, and in a transition extrapolating today's trends says little about the future. NEON's agent-based models offered a way to explore possible and likely futures and to spot problems early. ElaadNL brought its experts in smart charging and charging systems for many kinds of vehicles, guarded the practical use of the research, and planned to feed the results into its smart-charging projects, its market outlooks for the grid operators and their design rules for the grid.

From the former NEON website

About ElaadNL

ElaadNL is the knowledge and innovation center in the field of smart charging infrastructure in the Netherlands. Through their mutual involvement via ElaadNL, the grid operators prepare for a future with electric mobility and sustainable charging. It is our mission to make sure that everyone can charge smart. With Smart Charging we make optimal use of the electricity network and we drive on the power of sun and wind. Furthermore, we monitor the EV-charging infrastructure and coordinate the connections between public charging stations and the electricity grid. Have a look at our website for more information: www.elaad.nl

Role in NEON

In NEON, ElaadNL will provide the most prominent experts in the field regarding Smart Charging, charging developments and Charging systems for a variety of modalities. During the development of the model, ElaadNL will advocate and guard the practical applicability of the research and use a variety of interactive moments to contribute both practical and theoretical knowledge in the field of charging mobility. With its years of experience ElaadNL is the perfect stakeholder to bridge the grid operator, practice and science gap.

Motivation for joining NEON

As grid operators it is important to look ahead into the future, at least 40 years as the electricity grid and its components are designed to last at least four decades. The NEON project, using the complexity of domain interactions and agent-based development as a backbone, provides us with the required information and knowledge to explore the possible and likely future scenario’s and will aid us with the possibility to mitigate complications at an early stage.

Text from the former NEON website (original page).