Organisation: Royal Dutch Mint
When the euro was introduced in 2002, the Royal Dutch Mint significantly expanded its production capacity in order to fully meet the resulting demand. This additional production capacity has since been utilised to produce coins for a growing number of other countries as well. As activities expanded, the historic building in Utrecht which traditionally housed the Mint proved unable to keep pace with the demands of coin production. In 2020, the Royal Dutch Mint therefore moved to ‘The Dutch Vault’, an ultramodern building in Houten. This new facility is fully energy self-sufficient and is equipped with a state of the art security system.
The total investment in the new plant was almost €20 million, but RDM’s carbon footprint and environmental impact has reduced by virtually 100% compared with the previous site as it is now on a gas free site with on-site solar energy production that is expected to exceed its own consumption.
Furthermore, the latest HVAC techniques have been implemented, using the heat of the presses to warm the building in Winter and use cold air at night to cool the warehouse in Summer, while barely consuming energy.
The building was made entirely from concrete, chosen for security and insulation purposes. The entrance hall with Terrazo-look floor was made from recycled concrete of a bunker, reducing both waste and CO2 emissions for the construction.
Best practices to reduce environmental footprint have been adopted throughout the building, such as LED, zone lighting, waste water recylcing, etc.
