Today, initiators Hyster-Yale Nederland B.V. and Urban Mobility Systems launched the IntegratR Innovation Campus in Nijmegen. In collaboration with international partners from manufacturing, education, and research institutions, they are joining forces through joint development, testing, and knowledge sharing to accelerate the market introduction of zero-emission heavy-duty (off-road) equipment.

IntegratR Innovation Campus offers a solution to a growing problem

Demand for zero-emission heavy equipment, such as port vehicles, excavators, and other construction and industrial machines, is growing rapidly. In practice, however, manufacturers are encountering obstacles. Test and certification facilities in Europe are scarce and fragmented, which slows innovation and the market introduction of zero-emission heavy-duty (off-road) equipment.

With IntegratR, the initiators provide a solution to the shortage of testing and certification locations for zero-emission heavy equipment.

“The transition to zero emission requires strong system integration and close cooperation across the entire value chain. The IntegratR Innovation Campus provides a unique environment to accelerate innovations toward market-ready solutions and thus contribute to the next generation of sustainable industrial applications,” said Thomas Barthels, Chief Sales Officer at Vahle and one of IntegratR’s stakeholders.

Everything on one campus: from prototype to series production

The IntegratR Innovation Campus on Handelsweg in Nijmegen will soon offer all facilities for system integration, including an EMC testing facility and facilities for test preparation, certification, production, collaboration, education, and research. The campus is strategically located on the water, allowing large equipment to be transported easily via a roll-on/roll-off quay.

The collaboration and the innovation campus go beyond research and development. “It’s about more than building a prototype,” said Lucien Robroek, President Global Big Trucks at Hyster-Yale Materials Handling and a core partner of IntegratR. “The location and expertise are in place to actually build the first production series. Waiting is not an option. Electrification is proving more complex than expected, but with IntegratR we are bringing everything together to move forward much faster.”

Robroek on the new innovation campus: “IntegratR marks the transition from vision to execution. The industry cannot wait until 2028. With this collaboration, we are building the industrial backbone needed to bring zero-emission machines from prototype to series production.”

Not following, but shaping

With this development, the Netherlands is strengthening its role in the international energy transition for heavy-duty equipment. The collaboration between major international OEMs, SMEs, start-ups, scale-ups, and educational and research institutions forms the basis for an ecosystem in which the joint acceleration of innovation and knowledge sharing is central.

Lars Kool, CTO at UMS (a DEUTZ company) and a core partner of IntegratR, emphasized the importance of this collaboration:
“You can’t do this alone. Without cooperation, you will be too late. IntegratR is crucial for us: it accelerates time-to-market and helps us comply with complex regulations, such as testing electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). With this innovation campus, we are not following the future, we are shaping it.”

“The fact that we are standing here today with partners from the financial sector, government, and education proves that IntegratR is the accelerator the industry needs. We are building the supply chain of the future here.”

Investing in the future

In addition to technology, IntegratR focuses strongly on talent development. The campus is intended to become a magnet for technical students and engineers who want to work on the machines of the future. “If we do not invest in young people, we are not investing in the future,” said Kool.

This focus on talent development is widely shared, including within education. “It is fascinating that there will soon be a campus here where professionals, students, and researchers collaborate on the same challenges related to the electrification of zero-emission heavy-duty machines,” said Rob Verhofstad, Chairman of the Executive Board of HAN University of Applied Sciences. “By bringing different disciplines together, challenging one another, and coming up with new ideas, smarter solutions—and better professionals, emerge.”

Collaboration between education, government, and industry plays an essential role. Helga Witjes, Deputy of the Province of Gelderland and partner of IntegratR, said:
“By physically bringing knowledge institutions, governments, and companies together, cross-fertilization occurs. People start working together on solutions, it comes to life, and we actually turn the energy transition into economic activity. I am convinced of that.”

Launch of the IntegratR Innovation Campus on 23 January 2026

On Friday, 23 January, in the presence of more than 100 organizations from international industry, education, research, and government, the official launch of the IntegratR Innovation Campus took place. During the event, initiators and partners gave the starting signal for the further development of the campus. Rabobank and Randstad joined today as strategic partners.