On 23 January, IntegratR, an initiative of core partners Hyster-Yale Nederland B.V. and Urban Mobility Systems (UMS), launched its innovation campus in Nijmegen. Working with international partners from the manufacturing industry, educational and research institutions, they are joining forces by jointly developing, testing and sharing knowledge to accelerate the market introduction of zero-emission heavy-duty (off-road) equipment.
IntegratR Innovation Campus
The demand for zero-emission heavy-duty (off-road) equipment - such as port vehicles, excavators and other construction and industrial machinery - is growing explosively. In practice, however, manufacturers are getting stuck. Testing and certification facilities in Europe are scarce and fragmented. With IntegratR, the initiators want to solve the shortage of test and certification sites for zero-emission heavy-duty (off-road) equipment.
From prototype to series production
The IntegratR Innovation Campus at Handelsweg in Nijmegen will soon offer all facilities for system integration including an EMC test facility and facilities for test preparation, certification, production, cooperation, education and research. The campus is strategically located on the waterfront, allowing easy supply of large equipment via the roll-on-roll-off quay.
Step beyond research and development
The cooperation and innovation campus goes beyond research and development. "It is about more than building a prototype," said Lucien Robroek, President Global Big Trucks at Hyster-Yale and core partner of IntegratR. "The location and expertise are in place to actually build the first series. Waiting is not an option. Electrification is proving more complex than expected, but with IntegratR we are bringing everything together to take steps much faster."
Electrification turns out to be more complex than expected, but with IntegratR we are bringing everything together to take much faster steps.Lucien Robroek, President Global Big Trucks at Hyster-Yale and core partner of IntegratR.
Not following, but shaping
With this development, the Netherlands is strengthening its role in the international energy transition for heavy-duty (off-road) equipment. The cooperation between major international OEMs, SMEs, start-ups, scale-ups and educational and research institutions forms the basis for an ecosystem in which joint acceleration of innovation and knowledge sharing are central.
Importance of joining forces
Lars Kool, CTO at UMS (a DEUTZ company) and core partner of IntegratR, stresses the importance of this joining of forces: "You can't do this alone. Without cooperation, you're too late. IntegratR is crucial for us: it speeds up time-to-market and helps us comply with complex regulations, such as electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing. With this innovation campus, we are not following the future, we are shaping it."
Talent development
Besides technology, the innovation campus explicitly focuses on talent development. The campus should become a magnet for technical students and engineers who want to work on the machines of the future. "If we don't invest in young people, we don't invest in the future," said Kool.
The official launch of the IntegratR Innovation Campus took place on Friday 23 January. During the event, initiators and partners kicked off the further development of the campus.
Source: IntegratR
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