Bron: Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam
12 november 2024
Meet Gerrit Gerritsen, founder and director of IPSS Engineering. Established in 2005, IPSS started as an engineering company focused on the Research & Development branch. With their offices in Wageningen, on the Wageningen University Campus, and in Amsterdam at the Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam (ETCA), IPSS turns novel ideas into practical engineering solutions.
“We take care of the entire engineering process from identification to execution, “says Gerrit.
As an “early joiner” IPSS started their office at the newly opened ETCA Campus on the 1st of March 2022. Since then, they have been enthusiastic members, achieving growth in workload and diversity in projects, all related to the transformation to new energies. Time to ask Gerrit all about it!
Gerrit, what inspired you to become member of the ETCA?
Gerrit: “The mission of ETCA to address energy challenges through collaboration, technology, and innovation resonates with us at IPSS. Our strength lies in innovation, and we have a long history of creative engineering backed by years of experience and knowledge. As active players in the R&D sector, we are driven to transform innovative ideas into fully operational processes. ETCA provides the space and the opportunity to do so.”
How has the ETCA campus facilitated growth for IPSS?
Gerrit: “ETCA has provided us with a community of equal partners, all sharing the ambition for a sustainable future. With, the current, 29 partners in the ecosystem, the campus bundles knowledge and focuses on common goals, leading to faster scaling of technologies and impactful use cases across the value chain. Our customers recognize that successful projects here can be applied on a larger scale, which has led to new projects for IPSS.”
Can you elaborate on the EV charging stations project at ETCA?
Gerrit: “Amsterdam aims for all traffic to be emission-free as early as 2030, leading to a significant increase in the use of electric transport. The Shell Real Estate team at ETCA aimed to contribute to this initiative by preparing their parking lots for electric vehicles (EVs). They required expertise in electrical engineering and automation engineering to achieve this goal. That’s were IPSS engineering became involved for the creation of a functional electrical design and to keep an overview of the project.”
What unique features does your solution offer?
Gerrit: “One of the challenges of the implementation of the EV charging stations was the integration of all the chargers, without using more power than contracted to ETCA and to keep the load balanced. Therefore, a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) has been selected and an infrastructure has been designed. At a later stage it has been decided to use this BESS for a broader function to support the ETCA grid. This brought us to the biggest challenge: the integration of all systems with all existing systems within ETCA. Everything will be controlled by an overarching ETCA Energy Management System (EMS). By working closely together and good collaboration, a successful project has been delivered.”
How does this project contribute to the broader energy transition goals?
Gerrit: “This project contributes to Amsterdam’s transition to emission-free mobility. By preparing parking lots for electric vehicles and ensuring a reliable power supply, the Shell Real Estate team at ETCA is helping to meet the city’s 2030 sustainability goals. The chargers will also be included in a pilot to share them with some EV-driving neighbors. This initiative supports the increased use of electric cars but also contributes to reducing carbon emissions.”
Can you discuss another successful project that stemmed from your work at ETCA?
Antwoord Gerrit: “Following our success at ETCA, we already executed several engineering projects with other members at the ETCA. Like with Apara we did a combined project for a client where IPSS supported with process engineering and Apara Solutions the software engineering.
What makes ETCA an ideal environment for testing and scaling innovative projects?
Gerrit: “ETCA offers a combination of state-of-the-art technology with the latest innovation on new energies combined with a surplus on high skilled specialists, each with their own specific knowledge of their branch. Everything is depending within the ETCA on creativity and pro-active communication which has been brought within the ETCA to a higher level.
How do you envision the future of your partnership with BAM?
Gerrit: “As a result of the EV charging stations project at the ETCA we signed a Purchase Contract with BAM Energie & Water to support BAM with our engineering services on projects throughout the Netherlands and Belgium. This resulted already in a successful project for the design and engineering of a high voltage “transformatorhuis” at Schiphol Airport . ”
Wouter Pals, Project leader at BAM: “We are very excited for this partnership with IPSS to evolve to the next project at Schiphol. We have been looking for a partner as an extension of our electrical engineering capability for some time. We met IPSS during the collaboration on the ECTA project. This clicked so well that we have decided to continue working together for the future on similar projects to ramp up the energy transition and achieving our common goals.
What are the key benefits of collaborating with partners like BAM at ETCA?
Gerrit: “Partnerships with companies like BAM extend our network of equal minded companies who are working on technical solutions for a more sustainable and robust power supply and consumption. We believe that when the mindset is focused on collaboration and especially on joint innovation, we can achieve much faster and more effective progress in finding solutions for a sustainable future. By combining our strengths, we can make quicker advancements and create a greater impact in the field of sustainability.”