Equans manages over 4,900 public charging stations in Amsterdam

The switch to electric driving is still in full swing in Amsterdam as the City of Amsterdam targets CO2 emissions to be 60 percent lower than in the baseline year 1990.

In 2023, EQUANS won an opportunity to operate 2,500 public charging stations in the Netherlands’ capital. This is how we helped migrate 2,500 charge points and scale to 4,900 in 2025.

Read the EQUANS story

A successful collab between Equans, Alfen and GreenFlux

In 2023, EQUANS, a global leader in multi-technical installation and maintenance services and a reliable partner for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, along with GreenFlux and Alfen, won an opportunity to operate 2,500 public charging stations in the Netherlands’ capital. EQUANS won the concession based on its in-depth research and offering a combination of the best hardware (Alfen) and software partners (GreenFlux). The transition of 2,500 charging stations was then done in different phases.

The first phase involved taking over the charging stations, encompassing a technical inspection, functional testing, sticker replacement, and QR code updates to minimise impact on EV drivers.
The second phase was the upgrading process, which involved the replacement of all ageing charging stations with Alfen's advanced hardware.
The final phase was all about making the entire network ready for public use by migrating all the charging stations to the GreenFlux back end.

Challenge

Meeting the strict requirements for public charging in a municipality

In 2023, EQUANS, a global leader in multi-technical installation and maintenance services and a reliable partner for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, applied for a public concession, with support from GreenFlux, to operate 2,500 public charging stations in Amsterdam, the Netherlands’ capital. ‘This is the first major concession we have become aware of, leading to the takeover of all charging stations from one operator to another. We will manage these for the next eight years,’ said Mark van den Berg, Project Manager E-mobility at EQUANS.

‘With its goal to transition to zero-emission mobility, the Amsterdam municipality wanted the best hardware and latest technology. It had high requirements for durability in the future and the ability to work with the latest protocols. For instance, the municipality wanted price transparency for drivers and top-notch cybersecurity to protect the public charging network,' emphasised Mark.

According to EQUANS, the software platform always plays a vital role in winning a concession and managing the public charging stations!
‘Especially when the municipality's requirements are high, such as in the case of Amsterdam, software providers play a key role,’ said Mark. ‘We made sure GreenFlux was involved in the entire concession process right from the start as we wanted to make realistic yet ambitious promises.’

Solution

An innovative EV management platform with superb support

Below are some of the vital elements that GreenFlux helped fulfil.

+ Highest level of cybersecurity and information security

EQUANS chose us as security is one of the core pillars and backbone of GreenFlux’s business. We are ISO 27001-certified and compliant with the latest security standards.

+ Advanced smart-charging capabilities

In Amsterdam, roughly half of the major distribution stations face grid congestion. Energy management ensures that more charging stations are operational on the same grid connection. GreenFlux is a pioneer in smart charging and offers advanced capabilities to its CPO customers.

We supply EQUANS with our advanced capacity management solution, enabling them to effectively manage the maximum power consumption of the public charging network. Our solution intelligently regulates the charging rate of EVs to reduce the overall demand and avoid expensive grid expansion.

+ Clear price transparency

With the AFIR regulations implemented in April 2024, price transparency has been a top priority for some time. We adhered to the price transparency regulations, under OCPI and OCPP protocols, as stated by AFIR, ensuring the charging price is visible to EV drivers.

+ Compatibility with protocols

The Amsterdam municipality also had a lot of technical requirements, aiming for a future-proof solution to ensure technical compatibility with upcoming protocols and standards. And for that, EQUANS chose the GreenFlux and Alfen collaboration.

Mark added, ‘Together with Alfen and GreenFlux, we were confident that we would deliver the best user experience and meet all the safety and operational standards this project needed.’

+ Excellent support and communication

The Amsterdam municipality was interested in functionalities and benefits to simplify EV charging for EV drivers. EQUANS had previously worked with GreenFlux, and that experience proved key.

‘Apart from efficient solutions and services, GreenFlux provided us with a Customer Success Manager who was always available to answer all our concerns. On top of that, we received attention from their Security Officer, so we received up-to-date information about cybersecurity as well, which was a big plus for us.’

EQUANS and GreenFlux have a well-established communication structure in place. And the technical teams of both companies regularly meet to discuss the road map. ‘This is what we need from a partner. I am sure this collaboration and smooth working dynamics would help us with future projects too.’

Results

Successful migration of 2,500 charge points

High level of cybersecurity
Advanced smart-charging capabilities
Clear price transparency
Excellent support & communication

GreenFlux successfully migrated EQUANS' 2,500 charge points to its EV management platform. The outcome was that we provided the Charge Point Operator (CPO) with the highest level of cybersecurity, advanced smart-charging capabilities, clear price transparancy, compatibility with all existing and future protocols, and vital support and communication during the migration and up to now. According to EQUANS, the software platform always plays a vital role in winning a (public) concession and managing the charging stations.

GreenFlux is competent to handle large-scale, complicated projects as was proven with this and other projects. With most migration projects, its success depends on the right mix of technical expertise and coordination between stakeholders. The GreenFlux EV charging platform supports all current and legacy versions of OCPP and can perform any required integrations and customisations for protocols. The GreenFlux team facilitates efficient project management, customises any necessary technical changes when dealing with legacy systems, ensures technicalities are by the standards, and meets all safety concerns.

Background

Amsterdam has the highest charge-point density in Europe

The Netherlands boasts 183,605 public AC charging points and 5,881 SC charging points. They need to help charge 564,114 BEVs and 383,735 PHEVs, according to Congres Laadinfra 2025.

Out of these, Amsterdam is the city with the highest number of charging points (12,197) in Europe, followed by London with 10,781, and Rotterdam with 7,762 as of May 2024.

In 2024, the number of public charging stations managed by EQUANS and GreenFlux was doubled as the partners installed 2,400 additional charging stations in Amsterdam. EQUANS currently operates around 4,900 charging stations in Amsterdam.

‘One of the coolest facts that a lot of people in the Netherlands might not realise is that the public charging network in Amsterdam is the densest and most used AC public infrastructure in the entire world. There is no place in the world where there are so many public charging stations in such a small area. This project was challenging but also a lot of fun. I am proud that we made it a success along with GreenFlux.’

A fun fact is that many of the updated charging points were hard to reach. ‘The operation was done in quite a challenging environment, especially because it was in Amsterdam. The mechanics usually have a van with them, but there is little space for parking. Then the streets are usually crowded with people and traffic. Also, some of the charging stations were right next to canals. We had to get swimming gear ready for such spots,’ remarked Mark. ‘Some of these charge points at NDSM and Singel had a lot of graffiti and stickers pasted on them. These charging stations look like works of art. We are planning to convert them into pieces of art.’