At the end of April 2022, it was confirmed that the Dutch government had awarded €30 million to 19 collaborating partners to develop the digital infrastructure for a future-proof mobility system (DITM).
The Netherlands needs this development specifically for the digitisation and automation of mobility.
Working on Dutch mobility since 2015
Menno Malta, CEO of Monotch, explains, “Ever since Monotch was founded in 2015, we have been working on improving the data connection of the Dutch infrastructure. This first happened in 2017 when our Traffic Live Exchange (TLEX®) platform went live as part of the Talking Traffic project.”
First, several smart traffic lights were connected to this system. However, linking roadside equipment alone is not enough. Monotch showed that the exchange of data between public and private organisations ensures that everyone on the Dutch roads can benefit from more efficient, safer and more sustainable mobility.
Extensive Dutch mobility ecosystem
In the recently approved innovation project “Digital Infrastructure for Future-Proof Mobility (DITM)”, there is a collaboration with 19 different market parties; market leaders, innovative SMEs, including Monotch, and knowledge partners. RAI Automotive NL and Brainport Development support these organisations. Together, these project partners will give shape to the DITM project by developing a comprehensive system approach in which vehicles, roadside systems, traffic management systems, charging infrastructure and urban accessibility and design issues are tackled. The TLEX® platform is the system in which (traffic) various parties can exchange data between them.
Dutch government directly involved in DITM project
The cooperation between the market parties alone is not good enough; it is precisely the government’s direct involvement, via the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, that guarantees the actual implementation in the Dutch road landscape. It is essential for the Netherlands as a service country and transit port (literally and figuratively) to ensure good traffic flow on the roads and good accessibility. In addition, the Netherlands must ensure that the solutions to its infrastructure are future-proof, safe, cyber-secure and efficient for all road users.
Proven flexibility and scalability TLEX
After the first steps on the Dutch market of TLEX® in the Talking Traffic project, more projects and pilots soon followed. Over the years, Monotch’s continuously adapted and improved its data exchange platform. In the collaboration for the DITM project, new possibilities can be added to the platform.
“Before granting the government contribution for the DITM project, we as partners had already had a lot of contact to discuss how we could jointly modernise the Dutch mobility system and make it future-proof. Because TLEX® was already known to the various parties from other projects and pilots, the role of Monotch is obvious. We will use our TLEX platform to make data exchange fast and secure in real-time and bi-directional,” said Paul Potters, Smart Mobility Director at Monotch.
Important project for Monotch
“The DITM project is extremely interesting because of the quality of the consortium and the level of ambition so we will be putting an important part of our time and energy into this new project. We at Monotch look forward to it because we are convinced that this experience is very valuable for the future of mobility in the Netherlands and certainly beyond,” says Menno Malta, CEO of Monotch.
Timeline Digital Infrastructure for Future-Proof Mobility
The kick-off was given with the announcement at the end of April 2022 that the government grant for this project had been approved. It is foreseen that this project will run until at least 2026. For Monotch, this project has already started.
