June 03, 2020
In the Netherlands, a newly created company called ‘Zero Emissions Services’ (ZES) is to offer a service of swappable battery containers for fully electric inland barges. The Dutch beer brewer, Heineken, is the first client to sign a 10-year contract. ZES is a joint €20 million investment of four very different partners – Dutch bank […]
June 02, 2020
Undisputedly, the Tesla Model 3 is a bestseller in the EV world. At last, the traditional car manufacturers come with a valuable answer. Recently, Polestar 2 was launched on the European markets, and now Ford has published the tariffs for its Mustang Mach-E. Until now, the answer from the premium manufacturers, like Audi (E-Tron), Jaguar […]
May 29, 2020
Living close to railroad tracks can be a real ordeal. The noise pollution emitted by rail traffic can be unbearable in everyday life. Based on European directives, the Walloon Mobility and Infrastructure Public Service now has drawn up a draft action plan to combat railway noise nuisance in Wallonia. That’s what the newspaper La Dernière […]
May 28, 2020
Converting a ‘Euro-0’ six or eight-cylinder Mercedes SL roadster into a swift ‘zero-emission’ electric vehicle with even better performances; it’s the core business of the Liège-based Belgian start-up Monceau Automobiles. Start dreaming if you have 159 000 euros (ex VAT) to spare. After summer, the first demo models will be ready. Preordering is opened. Moncea […]
May 28, 2020
The proportion of toll kilometers covered by Euro 6 trucks on Belgian roads, the trucks in the ‘cleanest’ emission category, has continued to rise significantly during 2019. While this was still 62,8% at the beginning of 2019, by the end of the year, it had increased to 70,5%. The latter was shown by the annual […]
May 28, 2020
PlasticRoad, a road-building system made out of recycled plastic, is ready for commercialization. One and a half year-long testing on cycling paths in the Dutch towns of Zwolle and Giethoorn has shown the material and construction can take heavy loads and are durable. From 2021, the company will produce on an industrial scale. The system […]
May 27, 2020
On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron revealed the government’s plans to support the French car industry in the wake of the corona crisis. Apart from the aid for Renault, the plan contains two parts: conversion premiums to incite to buy greener cars, and an investment plan to make France “the leading nation in the production […]
May 26, 2020
The EU Commission is playing with the idea to have zero-emission cars exempted of VAT completely, all over Europe as part of the Green Deal, reworked for after corona recovery measures. That option shows up in a draft document American news agency Bloomberg claimed to have ‘seen’. But we’ll have to wait until 27 May […]
May 26, 2020
Swapfiets, the rented bikes with the eye-catching blue front tires, is on the market since 2018. Meanwhile, 10 000 Belgian citizens have a subscription to the popular bicycles. The concept seems – more than ever – to be the basis for success. Why? “Because you get your own bike, which is always functioning and available. […]
May 26, 2020
The German courts have ordered Volkswagen to repay in part a customer that bought one of their diesel cars equipped with emissions-cheating software. The decision could influence tens of thousands of other lawsuits against the VW Group. It has now been five years since the outbreak of the dieselgate scandal. The German automotive group equipped […]
May 26, 2020
“Redistribute public space” and “invest in transport on-demand” are two divergent views on mobility. The first is suggested by De Correspondent-journalist Thalia Verkade and Marco te Brömmelstroet, professor at Amsterdam University. The second comes from Alexander D’Hooghe, professor at MIT. Journalist Talia Verkade and Marco te Brömmelstroet, known as the ‘cycling professor’ and Director of […]
May 26, 2020
IM Efficiency, a Dutch start-up financed by a Belgian entrepreneurial family, wants to equip the roofs of thousands of truck trailers with thin, flexible solar panels to reduce the trucks’ fuel consumption. Solar power “The system of IM Efficiency consists of three components,” says founder Martijn Ildiz. To start with, flexible solar panels – a […]
May 25, 2020
After ten weeks of teleworking, companies are carefully welcoming their employees back at work. The question, financial newspaper De Tijd puts however, is: do we want to go back? According to a short survey among top-employers shows teleworking is here to stay. Covid-19 has influenced our attitudes. The majority of office workers still prefer to […]
May 22, 2020
According to data from Brussels Environment, the 62% reduction in traffic in the capital during lockdown has had drastically positive effects on pollution, noise, and air quality. On average, noise levels near highways or major axes dropped by 90%, while greenhouse gases emitted by natural gas consumption and traffic dropped by 24%. NO2 levels were […]
May 22, 2020
According to the Flemish car inspection federation GOCA, they’re ready to tackle the problem with diesel particle filter fraud with a particle counting device. But Minister for Mobility, Lydia Peeters (Open Vld), slams on the brakes. She wants to wait for the EU to synchronize the legal framework. Until now, the car inspection centers only […]
May 20, 2020
German justice has ended a procedure concerning manipulation of the financial markets (during dieselgate) against VW Group CEO, Herbert Diess, and President of the Supervisory Board, Hans Dieter Pötsch. A nine-million-euros payoff was the deal to halt the procedure before the Brunswick Court of Justice. The 9-million-euros fine will be paid by VW itself because […]
May 20, 2020
The emissions of greenhouse gases have decreased in the first four months of the year. But what are the effects on global warming? Greenhouse gases indeed went down spectacularly due to the corona measures. Plants were shut down, car traffic diminished, and most airplanes were grounded. Impact on climate The impact on the climate was […]
May 19, 2020
The Good Move project, the new Brussels regional mobility plan approved in March, has won the 2020 edition of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan award. Livable, traffic-safe city This award is given by the European Commission through Polis, the network of European Cities and Regions working together on innovative transport solutions. The new mobility plan […]
May 18, 2020
Several peripheral car parks in Brussels will become free of charge as of Monday, 18 May. Commuters will also receive a free six-month subscription to pedal with a shared bike to their destination. With this Park + Bike initiative, the Brussels government wants to avoid the overwhelming use of public transport during the reopening of […]
May 18, 2020
The free Dutch traffic and navigation app warning drivers for traffic jams or speed checks, is launching a package delivery service, Flitsmeister Pickup. It invites its 1,7 million users to participate in an ‘Uber-like’ parcel delivery service for storekeepers. Retailers who want to send a parcel can contact Flitsmeister, and Flitsmeister, in its turn, then […]
May 15, 2020
Flemish Minister of Mobility and Public Works, Lydia Peeters (Open Vld), has put together a ‘toolbox on sustainable mobility’. Together with the Flemish Foundation for Traffic Science, Fietsberaad Vlaanderen, and the Pedestrian Movement, she also launched the campaign #blijvenfietsen (All keep cycling). The aim is to encourage the Flemish people to continue cycling during the […]
May 12, 2020
The corona crisis has led to significant economic fall-out. Many companies are looking to governments and public authorities to save them. In principle, those authorities want to comply, but not at any price. They don’t want to be simple milch cows anymore. On Monday, for example, the French Minister for Economy, Bruno le Maire, has […]
May 12, 2020
VDL Roeselare, the coach manufacturer, based in the Belgian city of Roeselare, is allowed to supply electric buses to the German city of Leipzig. VDL announced this on Monday, May 11th. Made in Belgium VDL Roeselare is the former Jonckheere company, now part of the Dutch VDL Group, with headquarters in Eindhoven. The manufacturer also […]
May 12, 2020
Twenty percent of passengers will no longer use public transport when the corona measures will be further lifted. Among these former public transport users, 63% prefer to switch to a ‘virus-free’ private car, 18% opts for the bicycle, 1% for the motorbike. Twenty-six percent of interviewees say they will continue teleworking after the crisis. These […]
May 11, 2020
Romans think cycling is heavy, dangerous, slow, and unhandy. But they’ll have to put up with it. The city government uses the corona crisis to make way for the bicycle. Even before the schools reopen in September, there should be 150 km of new cycle paths in the Italian capital. Life-threatening Cycling is an absolute […]
May 11, 2020
Flemish Mobility club, VAB, expects a significant increase in battery and particulate filter problems in cars in the coming days and weeks. A survey carried out by VAB among more than 10 000 motorists shows that they hardly used the car during the lockdown. Few rides, short distances 7% of the cars remained stationary all […]
May 08, 2020
Oil giant Dutch Shell is planning a 200 MW ‘green’ hydrogen plant using surplus wind energy in the harbor of Rotterdam if it manages to win the tender for a new offshore windmill park 19 km before the coast of Egmond aan Zee. For the 759 MW wind park, it joins forces with Eneco, the […]
May 08, 2020
In 2019, the average ecological score of the car fleet in Flanders went up, but CO2 emissions didn’t go down that much as in previous years. That is what the Flemish Department for the Environment communicated on Thursday. ‘Eco score’ The global ‘eco score’ of the 3,5 million passenger cars in Flanders registered in Flanders […]
May 08, 2020
If there is one spot in Brussels where it will be easy to find an EV charging point shortly, it’s the Avenue Louise. Private partners are installing 300 additional charging stations in private parking facilities along the street this year. They will be open to companies and residents in a project called ‘Electric Avenue’. ‘Electric […]
May 07, 2020
In April, the German car market fell back by 61,1%, a historic feat. The car industry asks for an aid program similar to the sales incentives given in the financial crisis of 2008-2009. But more and more economists, politicians, and environmentalists are questioning such an aid, primarily because it will retard the energetic and mobility […]
May 06, 2020
The German government is going to revitalize the national car industry by stimulating the demand for cars. Sales have collapsed during the corona crisis. The expected purchase premiums could become part of a comprehensive economic stimulus program. Details are still to be decided. That is the outcome of Tuesday’s ‘car summit’ between the German government […]
May 06, 2020
The federal parliamentary groups of CD&V, Open VLD, and Groen have found a ‘historic’ compromise for a coalition to reform tax benefits for company cars in Belgium, reserving them exclusively for zero-emission vehicles from 2025 on. According to financial newspaper De Tijd, which broke the news, they’re looking for an alternative majority with the socialist […]
May 05, 2020
The Colruyt Group and the Colruyt family are putting all their wind energy companies in one holding, Virya Energy. They also take over Parkwind, the biggest Belgian developer of offshore wind parks. Virya (an allusion on the Buddhist word for energy) is the umbrella for three branches of wind energy companies. There is Parkwind, but […]
May 05, 2020
Stein van Oosteren, a Dutchman living in one of Paris’ suburbs, is one of the initiators who managed to convince the Paris authorities to invest heavily – 300 million euros – in bicycle infrastructure. Van Oosteren gathered all French bicycle organizations to present a joint and large-scale bicycle plan that covers the entire region. “A […]
May 04, 2020
Car manufacturers have massively used illegal software to make their cars look cleaner. That’s the advisory conclusion of the advocate-general of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The Court usually follows this advice, so there could be new damage claims in the future. The car manufacturers have based themselves unjustified on an […]
May 04, 2020
Flanders will probably meet its climate targets. Not because of its effective policy but rather due to the corona crisis. That is what a prognosis of environmental organization Bond Better Leefmilieu (BBL) says. The organization warns that it is just a once-only effect of the lockdown, and that structural measures will still be necessary to […]
May 04, 2020
The plans for an express tram between Willebroek and Brussels have been put on hold for the time being because proceedings are pending before the Council of State. In the meantime, an action group pleads to build a metro line instead of a tram connection. “It could easily connect to the Brussels mobility network.” Time […]
April 30, 2020
The air quality in Europe has improved spectacularly as a consequence of the corona measures and has prevented 11 300 premature deaths. That is the conclusion of the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air in Helsinki (Finland). In Belgium alone, 250 premature deaths are avoided. Air quality In the past few weeks, millions […]
April 29, 2020
The bicycle will become the ‘King of Kings’ in the city center of Tongeren. As of June, the entire inner city, together with the existing pedestrian zone, will become one large bicycle zone. The zone will cover 53 streets where cars are not allowed to overtake. It’s the third city in Belgium to do this; […]
April 29, 2020
European airplane manufacturer, Airbus, and British jet engine builder, Rolls Royce, announced that they pull the plug of the E-Fan X project, a hybrid plane that should have made its first test flight in 2020. The demonstration plane should prove it is possible to replace one or more traditional engines with an electric one to […]
April 28, 2020
The vast oil and gas fields in the southern United States emit twice as much methane as the American authorities believe. This immense contribution to the climate problem was detected out of space by the Dutch space tool Tropomi. Tropomi is a Dutch-built measuring instrument that circulates the globe and detects pollution. 2 700 tons […]
April 28, 2020
The air pollution at street level hasn’t diminished during corona. It urges organizations like the German Automobilclub von Deutschland (AvD) to ask for a withdrawal of the diesel-ban in German cities. According to the AvD, measurements at street level showed that such a ban had no effect whatsoever on air quality. There are practically no […]
April 27, 2020
Bram Schot (58), the former CEO of Audi, has left the company this month and considers his options. Meanwhile, he analyses the current situation and thinks about the future. He talked openly to the Dutch newspaper Trouw. Schot was the successor of Rupert Städler at Audi in 2018 and led the company through a difficult […]
April 24, 2020
After 15 years of litigation, entrepreneur Bart Verhaeghe buries his plans for the construction of the gigantic Uplace shopping center. It will be replaced in Machelen by the smaller Broeklin business complex, with a price tag of around 500 million euros. Network organization Bond Beter Leefmilieu (BBL) wholeheartedly supports the new workshop district Broeklin where […]
April 24, 2020
The American car manufacturer, Ford, is focusing on making its cars as quiet as possible. Noise is one of the underestimated problems with cars and vehicles in general, within as well as outside these vehicles. A test carried out by Ford showed that occupants in the new Ford Kuga PHEV experience interior noise levels that […]
April 24, 2020
The Amsterdam airport of Schiphol started testing this week the TaxiBot, a semi-robot with hybrid diesel-electric propulsion to bring an airplane to and from the runway. By not having to use the airplane’s jet engines, 50 to 85% of fuel savings are achieved. And a proportionally CO2 reduction, as well as a 60% reduction of […]
April 23, 2020
According to the new FQA of the national crisis center, garages and tire centers from now on are allowed to change winter tires, provided that the rules about social distancing are respected. Until now, they were only allowed to execute “urgent repairs”, meaning “all necessary repairs to guarantee the safety of the vehicle”. Now, it […]
April 21, 2020
The German automobile group Volkswagen (VW) reached an ‘amicable settlement’ with some 200 000 VW owners in the dieselgate scandal in Germany. Compensation amounting to 620 million euros will be paid, VW announced on Monday. Compensation With this settlement, Volkswagen intends to end the dieselgate legal fight in Germany by paying out damages to the […]
April 21, 2020
A new, comprehensive study published by the European Federation Transport & Environment makes it very clear that an electric vehicle (EV) is always cleaner than a classic one with an internal combustion engine (ICE). In the EU, it emits three times less CO2 on average. The study is confirming the results of a Dutch study […]
April 21, 2020
The truck division of German carmaker Daimler and the Swedish Volvo Group are setting up a 50/50 joint venture to bundle their efforts in the development and production of hydrogen-driven fuel cells for heavy-duty vehicles. Both companies announced on Tuesday signing a preliminary non-binding agreement. The agreement foresees that Daimler will consolidate all its current […]
April 21, 2020
The market price of a barrel of crude oil has temporarily turned negative on Monday. Due to the price drop, a barrel of 159 liters of oil was worth $-37,63 at its lowest point. This means that oil companies pay traders to buy oil, to prevent that oil production in certain fields has to be […]
April 20, 2020
The Belgian energy transition is delayed because the federal government is hesitating to decide. In principle, Belgium will have to close its nuclear power stations in 2025. To be able to do so, gas-fired power stations will have to be built, but the approvals are lacking. Gas-fired power stations According to Elia, the operator of […]
April 20, 2020
Bicycles are a popular way to get around during the corona crisis. Many expect this to continue even after the measures have been lifted. A number of cities also want to adapt their infrastructure to stimulate cycling and to slow down post-corona revival of car usage. Incidentally, the corona crisis is affecting the entire mobility […]
April 17, 2020
The Brussels Government has approved the decision to impose a maximum speed limit of 30 km/hour throughout the territory of the Brussels Region from 1 January 2021. At the end of May, a definitive map will be published with the roads that are still an exception to the speed limit of the ‘City 30′ and […]
April 17, 2020
Antwerp is preparing the introduction of the first bicycle zone in the entire Antwerp region. “More than ten streets will be rearranged to give absolute priority to cyclists,” says Alderman of Mobility in Wijnegem, Tom Tachelet (Dorpspartij Durf!). ‘Bicycle streets’ Signco, a company from Willebroek, used a special painting process to apply white bicycle figures […]
April 15, 2020
Since the introduction of all ‘corona measures’, traffic in the Netherlands has decreased by up to one-third. Depending on the corona crisis, it might take until 2025 for road traffic to exceed the 2019 level again. That is the prognosis of the Knowledge Institute for Mobility Policy (Kennisinstituut voor Mobiliteitsbeleid, KiM). Researchers rely on the […]
April 15, 2020
The Flemish government is going to relax the regulation to give investors of energy projects more time to finish their projects favorably. It is Flemish Minister of Energy, Zuhal Demir (N-VA), who took the initiative. She wants to avoid that Flanders will miss out on investments in the energy transition due to the corona crisis. […]
April 14, 2020
In the Netherlands, the fully electric car (BEV) has rounded the symbolic cape of 100 000. At the beginning of 2020, there were 107 000 BEVs registered. That’s 62 056 more than the year before, a rise with 140%. Only the Germans did slightly better with 63 491 BEVs extra in 2019. Belgium scores 11th […]
April 10, 2020
Many call upon governments to couple post-corona relaunch plans to ecological transition. A proposal from Denmark to attribute economic support in the spirit of the European Green Deal has gained the support of eight EU Member States. Belgium is not one of them since there is no consensus between the different regions. The cause lies […]
April 09, 2020
Paul Hegge, the representative of the Belgian Rail Freight Forum, sounds the alarm bell as today he sees a 20% drop in demand for rail freight transport. Railway transports are the EU’s backbone for delivering essential goods. The logistics of running trains across national borders that are closed due to the corona crisis are complicated […]
