New board member MKB-Nederland on behalf of FHI is fully committed to innovation and energy transition

René Dijkstra, CEO at Raditeq, has been a member of the board of MKB-Nederland on behalf of FHI since January. He takes over from Piet van Veelen (Vedotec), who, in addition to being chairman of the Building Automation sector, was a board member of the trade organization for small and medium-sized businesses for many years. On behalf of FHI, Dijkstra will focus on two themes that are important to every FHI member. So it's high time for a conversation.

By: Dimitri Reijerman

“On behalf of FHI, we have two spearheads on the board of MKB-Nederland: innovation on the one hand and energy transition, with sub-themes such as grid congestion, on the other,” says Dijkstra enthusiastically. “Of course, as FHI we also support the other positions of MKB-Nederland, especially in the field of technology, but also on topics such as regulatory burden.”

When the topic of energy comes up, Dijkstra immediately explains the problems he encounters with his own company. “There is a huge amount of wishful thinking in the government when it comes to energy. At Raditeq we have the entire roof full of solar panels, but Stedin does not allow us to supply them back. They refer to the general terms and conditions from 2008. Stedin has therefore had at least 14 years to increase the capacity on the network. In the meantime, as an office you must have at least a C energy label. So it's a problem on all sides.”

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Moreover, a well-functioning electricity network is not only essential for business, says Dijkstra: “If the power goes out for a long time, people will quickly die. I sometimes feel like we are gambling with our electrical grid. And that danger is mainly due to the fact that our electricity network is not yet suitable for our future plans. We have to invest billions in it, for example by expanding or strengthening the cables, but we also have to use the network differently. Consider peak shaving, for example.”

Technology will play a key role in this and that is where the FHI comes in with all its products and knowledge, says the board member of MKB-Nederland: “If you look at further innovation in the energy transition, you have to think about battery technology for power storage, both at small and large scale. You should also look at how you can efficiently store energy for the winter period during the spring, summer and a bit of autumn. Power electronics are required for this. This technological knowledge resides with our members, just like battery technology. FHI members can contribute a lot in that area in the coming years. Even though the vast majority of FHI members are not cable pullers, they can certainly play an important role in the field of power electronics, for example.”

Focus on innovative power and education

Dijkstra also has explicit ambitions on the innovation spearhead. Because in his opinion there is too little innovation in the Netherlands. “Raditeq is a company that carries out R&D and makes its own products,” says Dijkstra. “We use other FHI members, such as suppliers of components and printed circuit boards. It depends on how you define it, but there is still a lot to be gained in the Netherlands in the field of innovative power. There are realistically few companies that really create something new. As a result, we are becoming increasingly dependent on foreign countries. And make no mistake, Europe, for example, needs at least five years to get new chip factories operational.”

Education plays an important role in strengthening innovation power in the Netherlands. Dijkstra is actively involved in this, despite his disappointment that the MBO electronics course no longer exists. Yet he continues to try to get electronics higher on the educational agenda: “I have been part of the Center for Innovative Craftsmanship Smart Technology at MBORijnland since the start. I also give guest lectures there. I wanted to get electronics as a separate course again, but unfortunately I haven't been able to do that yet.”

Dijkstra also has other wishes when it comes to vocational education: “In my view, the emphasis is too much on general matters such as social studies and team building, and the training is therefore too generalistic. When I look at my own company, I see many experts in individual areas such as embedded software development, mechanics or PCB design. And don't get me wrong, it is also very important that these people can work well together in a team, but the world is too complex to be an expert in every area. As a business community in the Netherlands, we actually need more experts.”

In the course of 2023, FHI will draw up an 'energy transition' position paper. This list of action points and the position of FHI, federation of technology industries, are expressed. Partly on the basis of this position paper, Dijkstra will focus on the two spearheads within the board of MKB-Nederland, but also beyond. As soon as this document is available, FHI will share it with its members.