Municipality of Tilburg, department BAT Tilburg x Maxem | Joining forces for a cleaner Tilburg
Zero-emission waste collection without compromising operations
What do you do when you have to charge 22 electric garbage trucks while the available grid capacity is limited? BAT shows how smart energy control is the key to successful electrification.
Sustainable kilometers per year
kg CO₂-reduction per year
Electric garbage trucks
Photo: BAT Tilburg
Sustainable kilometers per year
kg CO₂-reduction per year
Electric garbage trucks
Photo: BAT Tilburg
Smart charging for more control
Since 1 January 2025, a zero-emission zone for trucks and commercial vans has been applied within the ring roads of the Municipality of Tilburg. For the Brabants Afval Team (BAT), this marked an important step in making waste collection more sustainable.
Electric vehicles were essential for this, but they also brought a new challenge: how do you ensure that all vehicles are ready for use every day, while energy demand grows and the available grid capacity remains limited?
Together with Maxem, BAT realized a smart energy and charging solution that enables zero-emission driving without compromising daily operations.
Quote BAT Tilburg
“Electric driving is new, and our employees' confidence that a charged truck is ready in the morning is crucial. With Maxem's platform, we can manage our charging hub so that grid capacity, battery and vehicles can be used optimally, now and in the future expansion.”
Bob Brocks
Assetmanager, Municipality of Tilburg BAT department
Electrification without compromise
BAT not only had to charge its own electric refuse trucks, but also faced the task of sharing available grid capacity with its neighbor Arriva until the upgraded connection is realized. In this way, different companies work together to make smart use of the available grid capacity.
At the same time, the location has to deal with limited grid capacity and a feed-in restriction on the existing solar installation. BAT therefore sought a solution that provides:
- Charging certainty for BAT and Arriva
- Maximum use of available grid capacity
- Smart use of solar energy
- Lower energy costs
- Room for further growth of their fleet
Control over energy, charging and growth
Maxem brought charging, energy management, solar energy and battery storage together in one integrated platform. The platform automatically distributes the available capacity across vehicles, charging points and other energy assets. Thanks to Smart Charging, Peak Shaving and smart energy control, vehicles remain available according to schedule, while overloading of the grid is prevented.
This way, BAT creates more charging capacity within the same grid connection, and room is created to electrify further without depending on grid expansion.
Photo: BAT Tilburg
Sustainability and business continuity go hand in hand
BAT now has an energy and charging infrastructure that is ready for further electrification. The location is equipped with 10 AC chargers (22 kW) and 29 DC chargers, of which 26 are 50 kW and 3 are 350 kW.
Vehicles are always ready for use, energy costs remain manageable, and further electrification becomes possible without extra pressure on the electricity grid. In this way, BAT and Maxem prove that sustainability and business continuity do not have to stand in each other's way, but can actually strengthen one another.
Facts & Figures:
- Number of electric garbage trucks: 22
- Sustainable kilometers per year: approx. 205,000
- CO₂ reduction per year: 240 tonnes of CO₂
- Solar energy generated: 204 MWh (204,000 kWh)
- Energy charged via Maxem: 350 MWh (350,000 kWh)
- 60-65% less collection traffic in Tilburg's city center through Green Collective
Quote Maxem Energy Solutions
“Electrification is not only about sustainable vehicles, but also about the reliability of your operation. By intelligently bringing together charging, energy and generation, we create room for sustainable growth, without compromising business operations.”
Robert Hooyer
CCO, Maxem Energy Solutions
Maxem's role
Within this partnership, Maxem delivered:
- An integrated platform for charging, energy management, solar energy and battery storage
- Smart Charging for maximum use of available capacity
- Charge Point Management for 10 AC and 29 DC charging points
- Overload and grid limit protection
- Solar energy monitoring
- Peak Shaving with battery storage
- Real-time insight into energy consumption and charging sessions
- Data delivery for ERE registration
Green Collective: working together towards a cleaner city center
BAT is part of the Green Collective, in which waste collectors combine routes to work more efficiently. As a result, collection traffic in Tilburg's city center has been reduced by 60 to 65 percent. The use of BAT's electric refuse trucks results in fewer traffic movements, less emissions and a safer living environment. A fine example of how collaboration leads to more impact than when organizations each operate separately.