THE Johan Cruijff ArenA Amsterdam for its sustainable energy programme, has been awarded The Eco Award at the prestigious T3 Awards 2018.
Combining the equivalent of 148 Nissan LEAF batteries, 4,200 solar panels and Eaton power conversion units, the energy storage system not only enables a more sustainable energy system, it also creates a circular economy for electric vehicle batteries.
Switched on in June 2018, the unique arena project was the result of collaboration between Nissan, Eaton, BAM, The Mobility House and the Johan Cruijff ArenA, supported by the Amsterdam Climate and Energy Fund (AKEF) and Interreg.
The arena now boasts Europe’s largest energy storage system using second-life and new electric vehicle batteries in a commercial building. The 3 megawatt, 2.8 megawatt hour system provides a more reliable and efficient energy supply and usage for the stadium, its visitors, neighbours and the Dutch energy grid. The system’s capacity also means that the energy produced by the 4,200 solar panels on the roof of the ArenA can be stored and used optimally.
Duncan Bell, Lifestyle editor, T3.com, commented: “We chose the Johan Cruijff Stadium in Amsterdam for our inaugural Eco Award because of the boldness of its vision and the excellence of its execution. The fact that it not only uses solar power but also stores it on reclaimed Nissan LEAF batteries is just a perfect mix of sustainability and recycling. It’s ingenious and ambitious, and a remarkable feat of engineering.”
Francisco Carranza, Managing Director, Nissan Energy, added; “We are absolutely delighted that an exciting project under our Nissan Intelligent Mobility vision has been officially recognised by the judges at T3.”
“The Johan Cruijff ArenA demonstrates that re-purposing the batteries of Nissan electric vehicles can contribute to making our whole energy system more efficient and sustainable. Nissan is putting its electric ecosystem at the heart of a sustainable future, transforming the way we drive and also transforming the way we live.”
T3’s mission is to seek out and showcase the things that help consumers live a smarter, better life. T3 is one of the UK’s leading consumer lifestyle publications with over two million monthly visitors to the T3.com website and more than 43,000 monthly print magazine buyers.
Welcoming more than two million visitors annually, Johan Cruijff ArenA is an important player in the top league of international, multi-purpose stadiums. It is the home of AFC Ajax and the stage for the Dutch national team, concerts, dance events and business meetings.
The stadium’s new energy storage system and related company, Amsterdam Energy ArenA BV, are concrete results of the innovation program managed by Amsterdam Innovation Arena, in which knowledge institutions, governments and companies such as BAM, Nissan, Eaton and The Mobility House are working on the stadium of the future.
The stadium and neighbouring area function as a Living Lab; a hotspot for testing innovations in practice. The partners in Amsterdam Innovation Arena are: Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam City Council, Amsterdam Smart City, TNO, KPN, KPMG, Huawei, Microsoft, Signify, Nissan, Eaton, Honeywell and BAM.
