FHI members bundle knowledge for energy transition

Just before the cabinet presents the plans of the various climate tables, FHI members delved into the theme of energy transition during a new session Interaction between sectors. The dialogue revealed that knowledge on this subject can be bundled within FHI, but that dialogue with, among others, politics must also be sought.

Already during the introduction round it became clear that almost every sector within FHI is busy playing in the energy transition or wants to stay informed of the latest developments in this area. For example, a number of participants from the Dutch Gasunie indicated that they are very interested in the question of whether and if so how the existing natural gas network can be made usable for hydrogen in the future. This offers opportunities for natural gas-free districts where the current infrastructure in the ground is reusable.

In the process of 'off gas', now government policy for the energy transition in the Netherlands, many FHI members who are active in the market for measuring equipment will have to adapt. At the same time, a member of Siemens indicated that the multinational sees a clear movement towards decentralization of the energy market, for example buildings that generate their own energy.

Technical know-how

During the dialogue it also became clear that there are in principle sufficient technical ways to make the Netherlands more sustainable in the coming decades. District heating based on residual heat from industry was identified as a major contender. It is important that the government takes a firmer grip on policy and management; some members complained that they find the current policy too fragmented.

Other issues that were discussed were the stability of the energy grid and the need to work in consortia to actually make the transition to green energy. Furthermore, the participants in this session of Interaction between the sectors concluded that CO2 pricing is going up, which automatically creates new business cases.

Energy panels

In order to support the sustainability of the Netherlands and the energy transition in particular from FHI, various ideas were put forward. One of these is the establishment of energy panels in order to sharpen political contacts and to make clear which expertise is available from the technology. The theme of energy transition should also be given more prominence during upcoming trade fairs and events, for example during the WoTS 2020. Finally, there is the desire to zoom in on smaller subtopics in clusters, such as maintaining standards and European legislation.

In the field of energy transition, it is Energy Storage Event on February 12th an interesting event for FHI members. With a broad program of lectures on energy storage and a number of exhibitors, the visitor is informed about the latest developments in this technical market.