Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam (ETCA) opens in Amsterdam

New innovation campus to target the energy transition

The Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam (ETCA) has officially been opened in Amsterdam Noord. Equipped with laboratories, workshops, test centres and offices, its aim is to bring key players together to accelerate the transition towards clean energy and help solve some of the world’s most pressing energy challenges. 

Successfully navigating the energy transition 

Shell has opened the doors of its state-of-the-art research and development facilities in Amsterdam to startups, scale-ups, academics and companies working on energy transition solutions. Companies and organisations to have signed up as members since the launch include energy network company Alliander, multidisciplined engineering company IPSS, advanced technological solution provider Kongsberg, AI software provider C3.AI, Technip Energy, data intelligence company Databricks, maritime battery technology provider Corvus Energy, gas turbines technology startup Finno Exergy, electrical engineering and software company Yokogawa, IT service provider Accenture, Utrecht University, and Vertoro, a developer of bio-based alternatives to fossil fuel resources.

 Innovative research & development activities 

The campus is located in the space where Shell first launched its research & development activities back in 1914. One of the more recent achievements of the department is the production of 500 litres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which was used on a regular flight from Amsterdam to Madrid. Other R&D activities include work on hydrogen power, CO2 reusage and storage, circular chemicals and 3D printing solutions to help curb CO2 emissions and plastic waste. Shell and the chemical manufacturing company Dow have also recently announced its experimental unit to electrically heat steam cracker furnaces. According to the company, this is a significant step forward in the companies’ joint technology programme, bringing them one step closer to decarbonising one of the most carbon-intensive aspects of petrochemical manufacturing.

 Amsterdam's sustainability and energy policy

Speaking at the launch, Mayor of Amsterdam Femke Halsema welcomed the new addition to Amsterdam’s sustainability ecosystem, saying: “The ETCA will help achieve the climate objectives for our children. It is an innovative, sustainable and international location, with people from 50 different countries, very much fitting to the metropole that Amsterdam wants to be. The work on sustainable solutions will be of direct value to the city.”

These solutions will not only benefit the City of Amsterdam’s goal to reduce CO2 emissions by 55% in 2030 and by 95% in 2050, but it also highlights the city’s long history of innovation through successful R&D activities. 

Read more about  Amsterdam’s commitment to sustainability.