The tender, which Park&Charge by Qwello won, was issued through the MRA-Elektrisch initiative, which supports municipalities in developing sustainable mobility solutions. Over the coming ten years, a total of 45 car parks in eight Dutch municipalities are to be equipped with charging infrastructure. The project is considered a pilot for complex charging infrastructure solutions in urban areas.
Pilot project with technical complexity
The special feature of the MRA-E tender lies in the infrastructure: the charging points are not created in public street space, but in car parks with increased requirements for safety, network connection, insurance issues and regulatory requirements. In contrast to classic individual projects, the regional concession aims to enable coordinated development across multiple municipalities. This is intended to make efficient use of limited network capacity while creating fair conditions for operators.
Jeroen Olthof, member of the Provincial Board of North Holland, emphasizes the importance of the project for urban mobility transition:
“Adequate, affordable and reliable charging infrastructure in car parks is not only an important tool to reduce pressure on public space, but has also become a necessary basic facility for e-drivers.”
Future-proof car parks in eight municipalities
The installation will take place in the cities of Almere, Dijk en Waard, Haarlem, Haarlemmermeer, Lelystad, Veenendaal, Woerden and Zandvoort. The rollout is spread over a period of ten years, with MRA-Elektrisch coordinating between the operator Park&Charge and the municipalities and monitoring compliance with the project requirements.
Since the acquisition of Park&Charge by Qwello last year, the group operates more than 15,000 charging points in almost 300 municipalities across Europe, according to its own information. Jeroen Franken, managing director of Park&Charge by Qwello, sees the current project as a strategic milestone:
“After months of preparation, we are incredibly proud to have been selected for this important project.
Together with MRA-Elektrisch and a strong group of forward-thinking municipalities, we are ready to
get to work to make car parks future-proof. This is a unique opportunity to make a real impact
and help the region accelerate the transition to electric mobility.”
With this project, Qwello is not only expanding its market presence in the Netherlands, but is also setting new standards in the development of urban charging infrastructure – a model that could also become relevant for other European metropolitan areas.
