All language subtitles for E.E.S01E03.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

[Narrator] These are
the engineering wonders

of the Netherlands,

their secrets revealed
in a way never seen before.

Visionaries here have pioneered
building on water,

constructing
futuristic seaports,

vast bridges,
and super-sized ships.

Dutch engineers continue
to break boundaries,

forming new land
from the ocean,

and inventing marine machines
on a staggering scale.

In this series, we reveal
the secrets of the engineering

that built Europe's
great nations,

the wonders that shape
its cities,

landscapes, and history.

We reveal the astonishing
innovations

and surprising connections

that helped forge
this mighty continent.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

The Netherlands sits on
the western edge of Europe.

It shares borders with Belgium
to the south,

and Germany to the east.

The country is famed for
its low-lying landscapes

and its constant battle
with the North Sea.

Over a quarter
of the Netherlands

lies below sea level,

and the country sits

at the intersection
of three major rivers.

This puts the nation
at a greater risk

of flooding than its neighbors.

For centuries, Dutch engineers
worked to face this threat,

building cities
and infrastructure

that work with marine
environments at their heart.

Developing world-beating
innovations

to control and harness water,

forging formidable
flood defenses,

like artificially raised
embankments called dykes,

to giant floodgates
that protect the country.

♪ ♪

Through their constant battle
with water,

Dutch engineers have become
masters in constructing

extraordinary
marine technologies.

♪ ♪

In the 17th century, engineers
here developed the fluyt,

a highly efficient cargo ship
that enabled the Netherlands

to dominate global trade.

And Dutch shipbuilders
also mastered constructing

large, flat-bottomed
merchant vessels

that revolutionized
inland trade routes.

Outside Groningen,
one company serves the world,

building monster craft
on an epic scale

in a remarkable shipyard.

♪ ♪

This is the Royal Bodewes
shipyard.

This family-run business
covers eight square kilometers,

employs around 200 workers,

and can construct around
eight ships a year,

ranging from
gigantic cargo vessels

to colossal cement carriers.

Despite its location,
which is 30 kilometers inland,

the company has been building
massive marine marvels here

for over 200 years.

[speaking Dutch]

On the quayside,

the team is gearing up
to launch

this enormous new cargo vessel,
built to carry containers,

diesel oil, and vehicles into
the water for the first time.

This is no ordinary ship;

it's one of the tallest
and most unusual vessels

they’ve ever launched,
and the team is on high alert.

Overseeing the operation is
Carlijn Bodewes and Rik Wols.

[Carlijn Bodewes] The day that
we're launching a vessel

is always a very exciting
and important day for us.

It's one moment in the
production process of a vessel

where you don't control
the production process,

and you can just trust
on the calculations of Rik.

[Rik Wols] It’s a very big ship,
and it’s a special one.

It’s the first time
we have a ship this size.

[Narrator] The shipyard is
located on a narrow canal,

which means the team can't
launch this enormous vessel

head-on into the water.

Instead, they plan to do
something extraordinary.

They will slide the ship
sideways into the canal,

using a series of ramps
covered in grease.

[Rik] Well, this is
the cylinder,

hydraulic cylinder system.

These are the only things

holding up the ship
before launch.

So, we are very careful
about it.

[Narrator] Building this
87-meter-long vessel

in a workspace
just 40 meters long

requires a remarkable
workaround.

The team builds the ship
in sections,

and pieces it together
like flat-pack furniture.

First, they assemble
the vessel's giant bow section,

then install the upper decks,

including the captain’s bridge.

Finally, they construct
the ship's stern,

then connect and weld them
together on the quayside.

The ship is christened in
a time-honored tradition

just before launch.

[smash]

[fireworks pop]

[Rik] Final steps now.

These people are going
to get our supports away.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[Narrator] The workers knock out
the final supports

and clear the area.

Everything is set to go.

[powering up]

[clanking]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[Narrator]
After 10 months of design

and eight months
of construction,

the latest in a long line
of Dutch-made vessels

enters the water
for the first time.

[Carlijn] Yes, the launch was
definitely a success.

It was actually one
of the best launches

I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.

[Rik] Looking at it
floating now,

it looks good
after all this time.

[Narrator] The finishing touches
will be done at the shipyard.

Then the vessel will make
its way to its owners,

in the warm waters
of French Polynesia,

ready to load up and
transport fuel and goods

between the islands.

♪ ♪

Dutch engineers are
world-leading experts

in mammoth marine engineering.

The Veluwemeer Aqueduct is
an engineering wonder:

an upside-down bridge
where marine traffic travels

over a four-lane road.

This breathtaking design
was chosen

as a cheaper and faster build

than a traditional
bridge or tunnel.

The Netherlands is
criss-crossed

with a network of dykes.

These raised embankments,

built alongside rivers
and coastlines,

prevent high tides
from overwhelming

nearby land and waterways.

The 32-kilometer-long
Afsluitdijk stops the North Sea

on one side from flooding an
inland lake on the other side.

Outside Rotterdam
lies, arguably,

the most famous symbol
of Dutch water engineering.

This neatly irrigated farmland,

next to the village
of Kinderdijk,

is a prominent icon

of the Netherlands’ battle
against the sea.

In the 18th century,
Dutch engineers pioneered

innovative machines
to protect the country

from disastrous flooding.

They constructed dykes
around the land,

then built windmills
on the banks to pump water

from the fields
into the waterways,

to keep the fields dry.

Back in the 18th century,

there were more than 10,000
working windmills

dotted around the Netherlands
coastline.

These 19 windmills
of the Kinderdijk

are the largest collection
still standing.

Marc Polderman
and Robert Hoffman

are water millers.

It’s their job to keep
the windmills in tip-top shape.

[Marc Polderman]
I wanted to be a water miller

since I was a little boy.

I was two years old.

It’s my dream, and my dream come
true over here in Kinderdijk.

I love it.

[Narrator] Marc and Robert
face a constant battle

to keep these historic
wonders working.

The timber strut on this
windmill is rotting away,

risking the integrity
of its 28-meter blades.

♪ ♪

[Marc] The board is part
of the whole construction

of the blades.

It's very important to repair
or replace it,

because when you don't do that,
it's getting bigger,

and it costs also more money.

[Narrator] Remarkably,
the Kinderdijk windmills

are still used
to control floodwater,

and they work with
the power of wind alone,

just as they did
over 250 years ago.

♪ ♪

The sails of the windmill drive
a system of gears and shafts

that turn a water wheel.

The wheel pushes water
from the low-lying floodplain

up to the level
of the raised waterway,

from where it eventually
flows out to sea.

♪ ♪

After six hours of climbing
up and down the windmill,

Marc and Robert
complete the fix.

[Marc] Now the job is done,
so we have to turn the windmill

a little bit better
into the wind.

And then we put the sails
on the blades,

put the pumping wheel on,

and then test if
everything is all right.

[Narrator] Marc and Robert
prepare to fire up

this Kinderdijk windmill,

to test if their
blade repairs hold up.

[Marc] So, now the brake is off,
block the rope for safety.

You see the blades are turning,

and the pump as well.

This is very beautiful to see,

especially with this
kind of weather.

There is water, there is sun,
there is wind.

Just perfect.

[Narrator]
Under their guardianship,

the Kinderdijk windmills should
continue to stand proud

for another 300 years.

♪ ♪

Keeping the water at bay
in the Netherlands

requires engineers here
to innovate

on a scale never seen before.

In Rotterdam, engineers built
the Maeslantkering Floodgate.

These mammoth gates are
the world's largest

moving structure, when they
close to prevent a flood,

while the Ramspol Storm Barrier
is a huge rubber dam

that inflates,
to hold back high tides.

One of the world's greatest
engineering achievements

designed to control water

is built across the southwest
of the Netherlands.

This is the Eastern Scheldt
Storm Barrier,

a colossal nine-kilometer wall
of moving steel

and concrete gates that rise up
from the North Sea.

It is the key component
in an enormous system

of flood defenses
called the Delta Works.

They were built in the 1980s

to safeguard the nation
from deadly storm surges.

Every year, as storm season
approaches,

the team here must perform
a critical safety test

to ensure the barriers work

in the event of
a life-threatening mega storm.

[Eric Van Der Weegen] The
Delta Works are very important

for the Dutch people.

And we work all day, all year,

to make sure the barrier
is working.

So, we must be sure that
when we push the button,

the barrier will go down.

[Narrator] The 62 gates
in the barrier

weigh up to 480 tons each.

Powerful hydraulics
close the gates shut,

to keep out storm floods
and high tides.

The entire barrier
is just one of 13,

forming a shield of steel
protecting the Dutch coastline

from catastrophic floods.

At the press of a button,
Eric's team begins to lower

the 62 gigantic gates of the
storm barrier into the water.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Each of the concrete pillars
supporting the steel gates

took an astonishing
one and a half years to build.

This whole barrier took
a decade to complete

and cost an eye-watering
2.5 billion euros.

It may seem like overkill,

but this epic
engineering innovation

is here for a very good reason.

On February the 1st, 1953,

hurricane force winds
sent a wall of seawater

towards the Netherlands.

Around 162,000 hectares of land
was flooded,

and over 1,800 people
lost their lives.

After the storm, engineers
soon began planning

the epic Delta Works project,

and the final barriers
were completed in 1986.

[Eric] That's very important,

not only Holland,
but all Europe,

to make sure that the water
is staying where it belongs.

We are here with the barriers,
with the Delta Works.

We keep Holland safe.

[Narrator] The barrier test
is almost complete,

and so far,
it’s run without a hitch.

Eric heads to the roof of
the barrier's control center

for a bird’s-eye view
of the final moments.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[Eric] I think five minutes,
and then it’s finished.

[Narrator] The gates
successfully close,

sealing the Netherlands off
from the North Sea.

Now they will need to make sure
it will open again.

The massive gates start to rise
as the winter sun begins to set

over this lifesaving
mechanical marvel.

And by 6:00 pm,
the test is over.

[Eric] Everything is running
as planned, so it’s great.

The test is a success.

[Narrator] The barrier should
continue to keep

the Netherlands safe for
many more years to come.

Dutch engineers have not only
spearheaded the construction

of remarkable marine machines,

but also pioneered
innovative infrastructure.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Engineers in the Dutch city
of Rotterdam are inventing

new ways to build
infrastructure on water.

The city is the location of the
world's first floating farm,

complete with its own cows.

And innovators here have built

the world's largest
floating office

that straddles
15 giant concrete barges.

Rotterdam is also home to
a modern engineering marvel

that eclipses them all.

This is the port of Rotterdam.

It is Europe’s largest port.

At over 40 kilometers long,

it covers an area of more than
17,000 football pitches,

and is equipped with some of
the world's most advanced docks

for handling containers.

Robotic transporters and cranes
quietly haul

436 million tons of freight

to and from
colossal cargo vessels,

without a human in sight.

The amount of cargo
is predicted to rise

in the coming years,

so the port needs to evolve
to meet this growing demand.

To do this, site owners
are expanding

one of the vital
interior waterways

called the Yangtze Canal.

[Narrator] The port of
Rotterdam's Yangtze Canal

is a colossal 600 meters wide.

But the canal bed is covered
in sloping silt banks,

so deep-draught vessels
must stay in the middle,

limiting traffic to just one
big container ship at a time.

To remove this bottleneck,
engineers will excavate

around 3.5 million
cubic meters of silt...

...to make space
for two-way traffic.

And they plan to build almost
two kilometers of new quayside,

with berths for 12
powerful tugboats,

needed to safely guide
these marine juggernauts

to one of the port’s
enormous terminals.

Engineer Sjors Allersma
oversees work constructing

the first section of the giant
new quay wall.

[Sjors Allersma] The quay wall
will be 500 meters long.

And on top of the quay wall,

there will be
a concrete construction.

Within the concrete, there will
be steel reinforcement bars.

[Narrator] The steel
reinforcement is critical,

to ensure the port's new
quay wall is strong enough

to support the new
tugboat moorings.

[Sjors] So, here, multiple
reinforcement bars

from multiple sections
are coming together.

And to connect them
with each other,

we need some
overlapping lengths,

and that’s what
I’m measuring now.

[Narrator] Perhaps the most
remarkable aspect

of the advanced docks
is that the site

was once part of the North Sea.

Now called Maasvlakte 2,

the entire area is
reclaimed land.

To build it,
giant ships dredged

240 million cubic meters
of sand from the North Sea.

This was fed into mammoth
vessels that sprayed it

into huge piles to form
new land for the port.

This remarkable
feat of engineering

took five years to complete,

and expanded the port's
footprint by 2,000 hectares,

allowing for vast
new developments,

including the world's
most advanced

fully automated
container docks.

Here, the remotely
operated cranes

simultaneously unload
and reload each giant vessel,

to reduce the amount of time
spent in the port.

The robotic transporters are
preprogrammed with routes

to shuttle each container
to its destination,

ready to be loaded onto a
truck, train, or another ship,

for delivery.

Back on site, Sjors signs off
the steel reinforcement

for the port of Rotterdam’s
new quay wall.

[Sjors] The overlapping lengths
are okay.

The spacings between the bars
are also sufficient.

So, so far, so good.

[Narrator] And the team is
one step closer

to adding another chapter

to the port’s already
remarkable history.

Once finished, the expanded
canal will be able

to accommodate enormous ships

stacked with an eye-watering
30,000 containers,

ensuring the Netherlands
remains a key player

in shipping the world’s cargo.

[horn blows]

The Netherlands is
criss-crossed

with lakes and rivers.

So, Dutch engineers have built
spectacular bridges

to knit the country together.

From the elegantly designed
MX3D steel bridge in Amsterdam,

built using robotic welders,

to the striking Erasmus Bridge
in Rotterdam,

with its graceful
rear-leaning pylon.

In Utrecht, one of
the Netherlands' vital bridges

is undergoing
a major refurbishment.

This is the Galecopper Bridge,

one of the nation’s busiest
and most important crossings.

This 54-year-old
engineering marvel

is made up of two bridge decks,
supported by cables,

and they carry 12 lanes
of fast-flowing traffic.

The bridge is on
a vital transport route,

and sees around 220,000
vehicles cross each day.

But there’s a problem.

The steel cables supporting
the southern bridge deck

are starting to corrode.

The bridge is
too busy to close,

so engineers must
replace the cables

while traffic speeds
by their work site.

[Janwillem Breider] Today is an
important day for the project.

We're installing new strands,
as part of the new cables

that will be carrying
the bridge.

[Narrator] To fit the new cables
and keep the traffic flowing,

the team must perform
a remarkable balancing act.

Engineers can only remove
one of the old cables

once a new one
has been installed.

They must do this cable by
cable to ensure that the bridge

remains fully supported
at all times.

In charge of installing
the strands that make up

each new cable is site foreman
Guillaume Henry.

[Guillaume Henry] So, all
the strands for each cable

is prefabricated
at the right length.

So, when we are ready, we fit it
through the machine, the pusher,

and then the machine after

is going to push the cable
up to the pylon.

[Narrator] Engineers at the top
of the pylon

intercept the strand.

Then they thread it through
a guide to send it back down

to the bridge deck
on the other side.

Guillaume makes his way
inside the bridge

to where they must lock
the strand into place.

The new strand emerges
from the road deck above.

Now, they must use
a giant hydraulic jack

to pull it tight and lock it
into the structure.

This ensures the strand
takes the weight of the bridge.

[speaking Dutch over radio]

[Worker] Three, two, one.

[Guillaume] So, we have to
stress on both sides

at the same time.

[Narrator] A team on each end
of the strand

uses a computer to precisely
control the jacks.

They must work in unison
to pull each end

with the same force
to draw it tight.

[speaking Dutch over radio]

[Worker] Three, two, one.

[Guillaume] Like that, we know
that each of the strand

will have the same load.

[Narrator] With the new support
in place,

the team can finally cut away
the 54-year-old cables.

[Narrator] The Galecopper Bridge
team uses a powerful saw,

equipped with a razor-sharp
cutting band,

to slice through
the old bridge cable.

Slowly, the rusty old wire
separates.

They’ve done it.

Thanks to this innovative
strand replacement process,

Galecopper Bridge has been
given a new lease of life,

with minimal disruption
to traffic.

When the works are finished,
the busy bridge should support

the nation for
another 100 years.

Dutch engineers are not only
masters of building

innovative bridges for cars,

but also novel highways
for bicycles.

The Hovenring is
a cycle path roundabout

suspended above a road
by 24 steel cables,

and supported by
a 70-meter-tall central pillar.

It is the first of its kind
in the world.

And to honor Dutch painter
Vincent van Gogh,

engineers created a cycle path

with thousands of
glow-in-the-dark stones

to illuminate
nighttime journeys.

Now, the city of Amsterdam
is embarking

on its most ambitious
cycle-friendly

infrastructure project yet.

♪ ♪

This is the Zuidas district,

just outside Amsterdam's
city center.

It’s a densely populated urban
area that is expected to grow.

Residents and commuters
face a problem.

A cramped rail and road
network here

limits access
to the city center.

Now, a four-billion-euro scheme
is underway

to solve this problem.

It's the biggest civil
engineering project

in the country.

In the first stage, engineers
are expanding the railway

and adding a new platform.

Next, on both sides
of the tracks,

they will sink
the twin highways underground.

A green space with bike lanes
will extend

below the raised railway,

giving the neighborhood
a complete facelift.

The engineers' first task
was to dig beneath

the existing rail lines to
install a new concrete base,

before reinstating
the platforms and tracks.

Next, they temporarily
removed the highway

to create the foundations

for a new subterranean
station passage.

Now, one of their biggest
challenges is to slide

this mammoth 80,000-ton
concrete bridge into place.

The giant bridge will form the
base of a new railway track,

and the roof of
a pedestrian walkway beneath.

It's almost as heavy
as 80 Eiffel Towers,

so engineers must use
special tracks

to slide the bridge
into position.

[Stephan Keizer] Taken a couple
of months to get to this moment.

So, they're cleaning
the sliding tracks

and they're greasing them,
so they have less friction

when they’re trying to push the
bridge into the final position.

[Narrator] They position huge
hydraulic jacks

to help push the bridge
along the tracks.

[Narrator] A computer controls
the pressure of each jack.

It's critical all four push
in unison to exert equal force

along the length of the bridge,

so it doesn’t slide
out of alignment.

[Narrator] The jacks slowly push
the 80,000-ton bridge deck

along the rails.

The bridge is now centimeters
from its final resting place.

It’s a crucial phase.

The team must be on high alert

to ensure they don’t overshoot
and push the deck too far.

[Stephan]
Everybody's very focused

to get the last
millimeters exactly.

[Narrator] Finally,
the bridge slots into place.

[Stephan] It's a good feeling,

and also a relief
for me, personally.

We've been working towards
this moment for months now,

and it’s always a good thing
to have a job well done.

[Narrator]
Over the next 10 years,

the team will sink the highways
and build the new station

to complete
this massive project,

creating a brand new
interchange

for Amsterdam’s cyclists
and commuters.

♪ ♪

Dutch engineers are not only
pushing the boundaries

of building innovative
infrastructure projects.

They are also pioneering
amazing architectural wonders.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

In Rotterdam, this collection
of unique cube houses

experiments with living
at height,

whilst maximizing
public space below.

And Amsterdam's
Stedelijk Museum cleverly fuses

neoclassical with
postmodern architecture,

to create a striking wonder.

Now, an innovative,
new architectural marvel

in Amsterdam is set to redraw
the city skyline.

[Narrator] This is
the construction site

of a brand new
90-meter-tall super tower.

♪ ♪

When complete, this remarkable
state-of-the-art building,

with more than 400 apartments,
will be energy-neutral,

generating as much
or more electricity

than the building uses.

It's a pioneering innovation,

and one of the first
of its kind in Amsterdam.

The secret to this structure's
energy-making prowess

is around 1,000
highly efficient solar panels

integrated into the skin
of the building.

The solar technology is built
into the structure's

exterior wall panels, which are
prefabricated in a workshop.

All the team has to do on site
is slot them into place.

[Arne Lijbers]
This is one of the panels.

We have a lot of different ones.

They’re fully prefabricated.

[Narrator] Arne Lijbers is
the tower’s architect.

[Arne] We can see
already the wiring.

Everything is already installed.

So, if they mount the elements,
they can plug and play,

and the solar panel works.

[Narrator] The tower's high-tech
wall panels are prefabricated

at this factory in Belgium.

Workers mold each panel
in a wooden frame,

where pre-colored concrete

sets around the solid
steel skeleton.

Workers insert hollow tubes
for the solar panels' wiring,

and then wash and sand
the exterior finish.

This method brings
the efficiency

of an indoor production line

to large scale
outdoor construction,

and cuts delays
caused by bad weather

that can wreak havoc
with builds outdoors.

The wall panels, complete
with windows, balconies,

and solar panels, weigh up to
a hefty 12 tons.

♪ ♪

[Worker] Pull, pull, pull.

[Narrator] Workers, secured
to the building

with safety tethers,

use ropes to stop the panels
blowing out of control.

[Worker] Pull it, pull.

[Narrator] They use mortar to
connect the panel into place.

Insulation strips, stuck to
the outer edges of each panel,

ensure the connections
are air and watertight.

[Sebastiaan Verstraete]
We are building

an energy-neutral building.

To have everything airtight
and watertight is very important

to don’t lose any air or heat
through those joints.

[Narrator] They brace the panel,

and leave the mortar
to set solid.

[Sebastiaan]
Jimmy, nice job, mate.

[Worker] Yeah, it is.

[Narrator] Once the walls
are sealed together,

engineers plug the solar panels
into the rest of the building.

[Arne] This is one of
the residential units.

And here you see the wires
that was already mounted

in the prefabricated element.

The wires can be connected
to the collective system.

[Narrator] A central control
system gathers and distributes

the power around the building,
where needed.

The team is set to finish work
on the tower

in around 17 months.

And when complete,
it will blaze a trail

on Amsterdam's skyline,

and set new standards
for sustainable living.

♪ ♪

Designers in the Netherlands
have a long history

of building extraordinary
architectural wonders,

that work in harmony
with water.

Medieval castle engineers
harnessed water

as a defensive barrier.

Muiderslot Castle is
surrounded by land

that was purposefully flooded
to hold back invaders.

And Heeswijk Castle was built
in swampy wetlands

that act as a natural
defensive barrier.

One castle, on the outskirts
of Utrecht, surpasses them all.

This is Castle De Haar.

It's the largest
and most opulent castle

in the Netherlands, and
a medieval engineering wonder.

Castle De Haar covers more than
1,300 square meters

and dwarfs other castles
across the nation.

It features three huge towers.

The largest, called
the Knights' Tower,

soars 48 meters into the sky.

Inside, the castle's
three stories

house 200 elegantly
decorated rooms.

And hidden behind
its drawbridge entrance

is a breathtaking
18-meters-tall main hall.

The castle was originally
built in 1391,

but subtle changes
in the exterior brickwork

reveals a surprising truth.

Its imposing features are
relatively recent additions.

The original medieval castle

was a much more modest
structure that fell into ruin.

But a wealthy new owner
with grand ambitions

reconstructed it at the end
of the 19th century.

They wanted to wow
their high-society guests

with a much larger,
more lavish structure.

But the ambitious scale
of their design

triggered colossal problems
for today’s engineers.

[Narrator] The extensive
alterations to Castle De Haar

were too heavy

for the structure’s
medieval foundations.

And for over six decades, the
castle was slowly collapsing.

Castle director Anetta De Jong
has been overseeing a drastic,

near 40 million-euro project
to rescue the structure,

and preserve it as the pride
of the Netherlands.

[Anetta de Jong] Several cracks
were appearing in the walls

and everywhere.

So, the only solution was
to make a new foundation

underneath the castle.

[Narrator] The team built
400 concrete and steel pillars

to support the foundations,

sealed the cracks,

replaced the roof,

and installed
steel-strengthening beams

in the Knights’ Tower.

[Anetta] The tower was really
like the Tower of Pisa.

[Narrator] The aim was
to complete the work

without affecting the castle’s
19th century grandeur.

[Anetta] The castle itself
is still the same,

but we have touched everything

during the last
major renovation.

[Narrator] The castle is now
a thriving tourist attraction,

with over 280,000 people
making the trip each year,

to wonder at its
opulent dining hall

and entertaining spaces.

♪ ♪

Castle De Haar should stand
proud for centuries to come,

thanks to its remarkable
hidden engineering operation.

♪ ♪

A lack of space on land
has forced Dutch engineers

to invent unusual
architectural wonders

to revolutionize farming.

The DakAkker roof farm is
the largest of its kind

in the country.

And across the nation,
high-tech farms lead the world

in producing colorful flowers,
sweet peppers,

and juicy cucumbers.

Sandwiched between
The Hague and Rotterdam

lies a patchwork
of dazzling glass roofs.

♪ ♪

At the heart of
this glistening city

is one of the world’s
leading tomato growers.

Their 25 hectares
of greenhouses are filled

with 250,000 tomato plants,

enough to fill
35 football pitches.

Inside, each greenhouse looks

more like a sci-fi set
than a farm.

Here, automated trolleys
transport crates

of freshly picked tomatoes,

while computers
precisely control

bespoke irrigation systems.

This is the farming
of the future in action.

Workers here are
also undertaking

a massive engineering project

to upgrade their greenhouses,

to increase the efficiency and
sustainability of operations.

Running these
gargantuan greenhouses

is an expensive business,

so technical innovation
is the key to success.

[truck beeping]

New air processing units
should cut costs

and give them an edge
over competitors.

[Kim Oosterom] Every day, you
want to make it more efficient,

you want to make it
more sustainable.

And every day, we want to do it
a better way than yesterday.

[Narrator] The new system
automatically monitors

and controls the temperature,
moisture, and flow of air

inside the greenhouse,

to create optimum
growing conditions.

This upgrade is just one
of many innovations here...

...including a powerful
geothermal well,

to heat the greenhouse
and its new systems.

Four weeks later,
the work is finally complete.

♪ ♪

This enormous greenhouse is now
packed with tomato plants

stretching to the horizon.

The new plants sit in beds,

where the computer-controlled
irrigation system

drips precisely the right
amount of water onto the roots.

Supporting twine stretches
to the ceiling,

to guide each plant's growth

and to ensure they receive
the right amount of sunlight.

[Kim] I'm really happy that
everything is working to grow

the new tomato plants
on a sustainable way.

We have planted over here
29,000 tomato plants.

[Narrator] Once fully grown,
workers collect

the new tomatoes by hand
and transport them

to the packaging facility,
where they're checked, weighed,

and packaged, ready to make
their way to supermarkets

across the globe.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

The Netherlands is
a nation of pioneers,

who mastered control
of the water

with epic engineering
innovations.

Today, its engineers continue
to excel in building bigger,

smarter, and greener,

placing this tiny nation
at the forefront

of European innovation.