People rely on technology

Diederik Samson is a full page in the FD. Since July 2024, he has been the chairman of the board of the state-owned company Gasunie. And this is reason enough for an extensive interview. Working on the energy transition, that is what he has made his life's work. After years of talking in The Hague and Brussels, Samson has decided that now is the time to roll up his sleeves.

Sleepily I read word after word, sentence after sentence, until I suddenly sense enthusiasm. At the very bottom of the interview the journalist asks Samson to give an example. Here, among the people, with his feet on the ground in Leeuwarden, Samson tells us what we do it all for: practical solutions.

“I was recently in Leeuwarden, where I grew up. The Wielenpôlle district is one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the Netherlands. There, the local housing corporation and a construction company have made over a hundred houses energy-neutral by installing solar panels, insulation and an industrial district heat pump. I thought that residents would mainly talk about the low energy bill, but other changes were at least as important. For example, the mirror in the bathroom never misted up anymore and you could sit on the windowsill without getting a cold back, because the windows were triple insulated. The fact that you could sit on the windowsill without it breaking was already a huge improvement.”[1]

This is what we do it for. Sitting comfortably on the windowsill. Peace, coming home and trusting in the technology that keeps you upright and doesn't let you down. Thinking together in solutions that keep us going. Pragmatic and free from imposed bragging, looking at what we can do. This is what we work for. We work for people who confidently rely on technology.

[1] Diederik Samsom: 'If the Netherlands does not invest in green technology, there will soon be no industry left' 

This column previously appeared in E-Total.