What does the Energy Coordination Center provide?
CCE is responsible for the entire energy chain, from procurement and (local) generation on campus to distribution to users. Its mission is to achieve an energy supply that is future-proof, sustainable, reliable, efficient and affordable.
- Expertise in the field of energy and energy transition.
- Energy for VU Amsterdam and Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc. CCE ensures that the university and the hospital can operate 24/7 in terms of their energy needs. In the event of an emergency, such as a public power grid failure, CCE provides emergency power.
- 100% sustainably sourced electricity, generated by wind turbines in the Netherlands and Europe.
- Heat for heating buildings and for education and research.
- Cooling for climate control processes in buildings and for education and research.
- High-temperature heat (170°C) for Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc, for special applications such as sterilization. This will be phased out over time as Amsterdam UMC concentrates the locations where this heat is needed at the AMC location. VU Amsterdam has not used this high-temperature heat since 2023. It is one of the steps towards an almost gas-free campus.
- Supply of small amounts of natural gas to laboratories and some (temporary) buildings, and supply of compressed air to VU for research and installations.
- (Chilled) water, drinking water, demineralized water, and permeate water.
- Management and maintenance of underground heat and cold storage (WKO) on the VU Campus. This is a gas-free way of heating and cooling using geothermal energy (water layers at about 150 meters depth) and part of the energy transition.
- Energy monitoring; in the context of further energy reduction, energy consumption figures are analyzed and compared with previous years and with the expected energy consumption from the budget.
From waste incineration to fossil-free
The Energy Center was built between 1967 and 1977 to, among other things, incinerate the waste of VU Amsterdam (university and hospital), using the released energy to heat VU Amsterdam and VUmc. We switched to natural gas, the least polluting fossil fuel. Currently, VU Amsterdam, VUmc, and CCE work together towards an almost gas-free campus by 2040. This means that we will use almost no natural gas on campus by then.
This energy transition is in full swing. Natural gas is only used for heat production and no longer for local electricity production. The electricity we purchase is 100% sustainably generated, and several underground heat and cold storage (WKO) installations are already in use. We also purchase from Vattenfall district heating and cooling from Nieuwe Meer. This is natural and sustainable cooling with cold water from the lower layers of this nearby lake. The water is pumped to a cooling plant and transferred to the cooling network for Zuidas. Because much less energy is needed, this also means a significant reduction in CO2 emissions.
Ambitions for 2040
In addition to making energy generation more sustainable, we aim to reduce energy consumption and continuously implement operational improvements.
- By 2040, all heat will be supplied almost gas-free: Heat and cooling will be provided by underground heat and cold storage (WKO) or by sustainable district heating and cooling from Nieuwe Meer.
The OZW building, the NU building and the VU Research Building already have WKO. ACTA and the O|2 Lab Building receive district heating and cooling from Nieuwe Meer. - By 2040, energy will also be generated sustainably on a small scale with solar panels.
Want to read more?
In 2017, VU Amsterdam and Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc, established the Energie Masterplan (Dutch only). This plan describes the transition of the energy management to a sustainable VU Campus.
Read all about sustainability at VU Amsterdam here, not only an important theme in our operations but also in our education and research.
Visiting address and contact
Transitorium Building
Van der Boechorststraat 5
1081 BT Amsterdam
Reception: +31 (0)20 59 85810
General emergency number VU Amsterdam
22222 (within VU) / +31(0)20 598 2222