Smart Energy

The East Netherlands is the living lab for decentralised energy systems. The development, integration, testing and application of energy systems is in the DNA of our region (RIS3, 2020). All parts of the value chain for decentralised energy systems are present. The key technologies that make this value chain possible are developed here in East Netherlands. The East Netherlands has technology developers for energy storage in batteries, flywheels or electrochemical energy carriers, such as hydrogen. Necessary material knowledge, components, integration knowledge, test facilities and certification knowledge are also present in companies and training and knowledge institutes. 

The East Netherlands Innovation Agenda 

To accelerate the energy transition, we are asking the national government and the European Union to invest with us in the following three themes:

• Developing open innovation programmes and shared facilities. Places where various parties work together on innovations, facilities to test and demonstrate these innovations on a small scale, and the development of knowledge and talent.
• Demonstrating system innovations around decentralised energy systems in a real-life setting of Smart Energy Hubs
• Supporting companies to scale up promising energy technologies

Based on the current inventory, there is an investment demand of approximately €300 million. In addition, we are asking the national government to join us in considering the scope and possibilities for experimenting at the decentralised energy system level. 

Provincial, national and European objectives

With the Smart Energy investment agenda, we contribute to the energy transition, one of the four themes in the national mission-oriented innovation policy. Within the investment agenda, we also give substance to the CO2  reduction targets in the New Energy Overijssel, the Gelderland Energy Agreement, the national Climate Agreement and the Paris Climate Agreement. In all sectors, this places high demands on the innovative capacity of our economy and society. In the energy field, we must make the transition to a sustainable electricity system and a built environment that uses less and less natural gas and generates more and more energy. We are also committed to a climate-neutral and competitive industry, agriculture and sustainable mobility, where we want to combine replacement investments in production with innovative integrated decentralised energy systems.
 

The European Commission has laid down its roadmap for making the economy more sustainable in the Green Deal and is developing an approach to remove obstacles to sustainable plans. For example, the European Commission is making efforts to adapt legislation and regulations and to set up new funds. In East Netherlands, we offer solutions for congestion and balancing the energy network, with new business cases for energy solutions and upscaling of energy technological innovations (energy storage technology, hydrogen, e-mobility and system integration) for industry, built environment and mobility.