The enterprising waste partner for business in the Netherlands – this is a title that Milieu Service Nederland can rightfully claim. It makes sense then that their own premises should also live up to the business’s green philosophy.
The addition of 18 smart AC chargers and one 200 kW EV Ultra fast charger by Smappee gave a considerable boost to this sustainability pioneer’s transition to an electric fleet. Dennis Ostendorf (Milieu Service Nederland), Sven Alink (Vattentorn), and Ben Vermeulen (Smappee) explain how this came about.
Milieu Service Nederland is known as the ideal partner for entrepreneurs when it comes to collecting and sorting waste materials. “We’ve been around since 1986,” says Dennis Ostendorf, the company’s commercial director. “At the time, we felt that there were too many different types of garbage trucks driving around the Netherlands.
We wanted to change that. Now we collect 35 different types of waste streams from businesses around the country. We work with a partner network to collect waste at clients’ premises and take it to be processed.
The recyclable materials (recyclates) can then be used as raw materials in new products. This way, we are helping to create a circular economy. There are nine steps in this process: consumer shopping, consumption, at-source separation, volume reduction, transport, sorting at a circular hub, transport (again), processing, and sustainable production.”
Making a complete switch to renewables
It goes without saying that Milieu Service Nederland knows the value of leading by example. As a result, the company began to invest in sustainable solutions long before ‘going green’ became popular.
“When we moved to our current premises about five years ago, we had eight double AC charging stations. Since then, we’ve been working constructively with Vattentorn, one of Sven Alink’s companies, to improve our performance on all aspects of sustainability,” says Dennis.
Vatterntorn develops and project manages commercial real estate in the Netherlands and Germany. “When Milieu Service Nederland decided to make their entire property portfolio more sustainable, we acted as the consultants and guided them. We helped them with the installation of solar panels, a wind turbine, a solar carport, and a comprehensive EV charging infrastructure.
They are understandably focusing on their parking area and charging stations now that their transition to a fully electric fleet is going full steam ahead. This became imperative since most larger Dutch towns and cities will ban delivery vehicles using fossil fuel from 2025,” Sven explains.
“Our aim was to be able to maximize the use of our own green energy”
Dennis Ostendorf, commercial director, Milieu Service Nederland
Introducing electric trucks and vans
Milieu Service Nederland’s fleet is steadily becoming greener and more environmentally friendly. “At the moment, all our large trucks run on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), a plant-based diesel-like fuel.
We have two smaller electric trucks, one fully electric garbage truck, and a “100% electric” compactor. Although our passenger vehicles are a mix of electric and hybrid cars for now, we will soon have only electric cars for staff.”
The company installed nine double AC charging stations (EV Base) providing 18 charge points, and one 200 kW fast charger (EV Base Ultra), all from Smappee, at the beginning of 2023.
“These chargers will first and foremost be used by our electric trucks. We ordered our first electric truck two-and-a-half years ago because we knew it would take time for it to be delivered. We are currently converting it for our purposes. Our partners handle their own transport, and this truck will mainly be used as back-up in emergencies or if we get an urgent request from a client.”
The best, most cost-effective option
There were quite a few reasons why this logistics company chose Smappee. “It didn’t take us long to make up our minds. For one, Smappee’s service is excellent,” Sven says. “When we had initially decided to add more chargers to our parking area, which already had 26, we planned to look for a supplier.
Just as we were about to get quotes and proposals for AC and DC chargers, Ben Vermeulen of Smappee contacted us.
On paper and in practice Smappee impressed us at a technical level. Their solutions are very advanced in terms of capacity, data generation and analysis, as well as the software and smart technology they use. On top of that, their chargers are well-designed and attractive.”
“Our technology is based on a powerful energy-management system,” adds Ben Vermeulen, Smappee’s Business Developer. “The system continuously and automatically tracks how much renewable power is being generated and how much is being used. This indicates how much power is still available.
Ben continues to explain that the system’s multi-gateway pulls data from all Milieu’s renewable-energy installations (five solar fields at different locations and a wind generator) into the central Smappee platform. Once the solar and wind energy have been divided among all users, the remaining power is distributed to the AC and DC charging points.
The EV Ultra charger has a capacity of up to 200 kW and the best charging speed. The system further takes full advantage of dynamic tariffs and vehicles are always charged at the most favorable rates. The dynamic load-balancing functionality prevents the system from being overloaded and therefore makes it very safe. All of this happens automatically behind the scenes.
Thanks to Smappee’s smart technology, clients have a clear, detailed overview of all charging sessions at all charging stations in real-time throughout the day. “Their charging stations and solutions are completely independent and can connect with any payment service provider, making it easy for users to change providers if and when they want.”
An added bonus: soft lighting
Dennis and Sven are very happy with Smappee’s EV Ultra fast charger. “First and foremost, it works flawlessly. This is not always a given. I don’t think we’re using all its functions yet, but this will undoubtedly change.
Once we have more electric trucks and vans, we’ll install more AC and DC charging points and start using the fast chargers and energy management system to their full capacity.
We also discovered that Smappee’s chargers have an unintended benefit. Because it’s easy to adjust the brightness of light behind the logos on the chargers, it helps us to light the parking area. As a result, we save because we don’t need many additional lights and the lighting in the parking area is softer and not so harsh. It’s another little thing that Smappee thought of which helps us.”
Customer Milieu Service Nederland
Country Netherlands
Industry Recycling raw materials
Profile.
Milieu Service Nederland helps Dutch businesses by sorting, collecting, and processing their waste. Together with their partner network, the company enables all businesses – small, medium, and large – to participate in all phases of the circular economy. They themselves have been investing in green energy for several years and have installed solar panels, a wind turbine, a solar carport and charging stations.
The Challenge.
Switching their entire fleet to electric vehicles is a top priority for Milieu Service Nederland. An important part of this process is the phased expansion of its current network of 36 AC charging stations. They therefore began looking for a smart DC charger that is fast and flexible enough to ‘power’ their new electric truck.
The Solution.
Milieu Service Nederland found that Smappee’s EV Ultra was the most cost-effective fast charger for their needs. It allows them to charge their electric truck quickly so that they can continue to provide the best service possible without interruptions or delays.
The Results.
- A capacity of up to 200 kW guarantees very fast charging
- The smart energy management system charges EVs at most favorable tariffs
- The dashboard provides a handy overview of the energy generated and used
- The entire fleet’s charging sessions can be controlled via the dashboard
- Pleasant soft lighting in the parking area
Why Smappee?
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