NRG Magazine Edition 14

Edition 14 | June 2014 | Retail price â‚Ź 5,50

THE eMOBILITY SPECIAL TABBY

TESLA MODEL S

Smart City Event Highlights

Back to the Future

An Interview with Matthew Lynch

Shell and the Art of Innovation Celebrating 100 years of Innovation at the Shell Technology Center in Amsterdam

BMW i

ORPHIRO

STELLA

GOING SOLAR WeShareSolar and FC Groningen Bring Solar Energy to the Roofless

Gas Innovations Inspiring Clean Energy

International Gas Union Research Conference

September 17-19, 2014 Tivoli Congress Center Copenhagen

......gas will play an increasing role in the future energy mix, and technology will be the key to the future business model for gas growth.......

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN • • • • • •

New energy gases and their future role Gas and renewables in combination Utilisation of the gas infrastructure Gas-to-power and Power-to-gas The LNG revolution Shale gas

Read more and sign up for IGRC2014 Newsletter on

www.igrc2014.com

Under the auspices of IGU - organised by Danish Gas Technology Centre

Circulation distribution Partners of Energy Academy Europe Partners of Energy Valley Partners of the International NRG Battle Partners of Kivi Niria University of Groningen Hanze University of Applied Sciences TU Delft TU Eindhoven TU Twente Companies in the Energy Sector Municipalities in the Netherlands Province of Groningen Energy Events (http://www.nrgmagazine.nl/agenda) NRG Magazine is published 4 times a year Publisher TTA World P.O. Box 1746 9701 BS Groningen The Netherlands www.tta-world.com Kraneweg 13-7 9718 JC Groningen Tel.: +31 50 317 14 75 Fax.: +31 50 317 14 72 editor@nrgmagazine.nl www.nrgmagazine.nl www.twitter.com/thenrgbattle www.facebook.com/nrgbattle Editor-in-Chief Cristina Huré Editor Mariia Stolyga Designer Ashley de Jong-Doucette Sales Rob Hogenelst, Director Sales

Photo by Alexa Bar

Magazine Circulation 7.500 per edition

EDITOR'S LETTER This edition of NRG Magazine is about great companies, acting far ahead of their times, and innovators, whose game-changing ideas are becoming a reality.

Its main focus is on electric mobility. We shined the spotlight on to some of the most disruptive electric vehicles of our times - TABBY, Tesla and BMWi. However, we did not stop at investigating merely the products on the market. We aimed at presenting a broader, brighter picture of the future of eMobility, highlighting the aspects like infrastructure (Fastned) and the role that solar power can have in the development of new car models (Stella).

As the editor of NRG Magazine, I'm privileged to speak with so many brilliant minds. With every article I write or read, I learn something new.

The future we imagined, with its spaceships and flying cars, doesn’t seem so distant anymore. We're living in an age of technological advancement and innovative genius. There are electric cars being assembled like IKEA furniture, cars that are feeding energy back into the grid, solarpowered cars, and all manner of beautiful new electric vehicles that make sustainability stylish. In this issue, you'll read about artistic solar panels, Shell's innovation center, and the sustainable revolution of football!

When I look at Elon Musk, I get a glimpse of what the world would be like if we could all be that creative. “Tesla Motors was created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport,” he says. Under Elon’s command, Tesla has officially released its patents for public use. This is because Elon realizes that Tesla alone cannot pave the way to zero emission roads – he needs the help of others (http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/all-our-patentare-belong-you). With that in mind, he’s offered us the tools needed to join his movement.

This edition of NRG Magazine is full of honorary examples and people who have taken great ideas and put them into practice. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

Tel: +31 50 317 14 70 sales@nrgmagazine.nl Printer Veldhuis Media Cover photo Maurizio Pesce, Wired Italy Contact For subscriptions to NRG Magazine or ideas for future editions of the magazine, please contact: editor@nrgmagazine.nl No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced without written permission of the publisher. The publisher and authors do not accept liability for damages of any nature whatsoever, resulting from actions and decisions based on the information in this magazine. This issue is produced with the utmost care.

Editor's Choice

TABBY was featured in our cover story. This build-it-yourself car represents a whole new way of thinking about eMobility.

I sat down with Simone Cicero to talk about his prototype.

CHuré

-Cristina Huré, editor@tta-world.com

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JUNE

THE eMOBILITY EDITION

2014

In this issue...

9 9

14 16 26 28 30 36 38 Start-Updates

Success Story updates Sistine Solar's beautiful solar panels, and Rockstart's Demo-Day

Shell and the 14 Art of Innovation

Celebrating 100 years of innovation at the Shell Technology Centre Amsterdam

Revolutionizing

16 eMobility

OSVehicle's TABBY, Tesla's Model S, the BMW i, Orphiro, and Stella

Rethinking 26 Infrastructure

Fastned's New Highway Hub and Amsterdam's V2G Revolution

Smart City Event

28 Highlights

Looking back at the best of the Smart City Event 2014

Going Solar 30

WeShareSolar team up with FC Groningen to make their stadium green, and Amsterdam Arena evolves into an Eco-Stadium

Dr. Finance

36 Tells All

Q&A Financing in Solar

Back to the 38 Future With Matthew Lynch

NRG Magazine 5

LET’S TURN MORE FUEL-EFFICIENT DRIVING INTO A CHALLENGE: THE SHELL ECO-MARATHON. Who has the best fuel efficiency? Who will get the furthest? The excitement once again reached fever pitch in and around Ahoy Rotterdam where we held the 30th edition of the Shell Eco-marathon in May. Some 3,000 students from 27 countries divided across 200 teams took part in this year’s event. It is the ultimate challenge that drives man and machine to go to the extreme.

The Shell Eco-marathon demonstrates how working together in teams paves the way to innovative solutions. The participants combine their creativity with state - of- the - art technology to achieve the pinnacle in energy efficiency. This resulted in the former track record being broken again this year. It now stands at no less than 3,314.9 kilometres on 1 litre of fuel. This means you could drive around the world on just 12.5 litres of fuel!

Shell sees joining forces with students and partners around the globe as one way of being able to meet the challenge of the growing demand for energy in the future. www.shell.nl

LET’S GO.

NRG Magazine is proud to have all editions introduced by key players and big thinkers in the energy domain.

Lisa Bodell is the CEO of futurethink, an award-winning innovation research and training firm that helps businesses embrace change and become world-class innovators. She is also the author of best-selling book Kill the Company: End the Status Quo, Start an Innovation Revolution.

Foreword

Innovation The Fuel You Need to Succeed

As we march forward into the 21st century, one thing has become clear: change is the new normal.

In business, change has a sexier name these days: we call it innovation; and it’s a strategic pillar of nearly every successful organization.

Innovation is not only about finding new growth opportunities and improving the bottom line. It’s about developing services, solutions, and ideas that improve people’s lives and the world in which we live. This is what the greatest businesses—and individuals—strive to achieve. This is more than a little true for businesses in the energy sector.

So, what can we do to make change (and the resulting innovations) happen? What holds us back from doing so? My belief is that in most corporations today, the issue is that we are approaching change all wrong; it’s too complex, too hierarchical, and believe it or not, too process-oriented. In fact, my belief is that if we want to approach change differently, we have to change our approach. My recent book, Kill the Company, explores this hypothesis and provides the framework and tools for anybody to get true change started, in simple ways. My work is based on the belief that anyone can be innovative—regardless of their industry, role or company culture—and everyone can become an agent for change.

Here are three simple ways to make change a reality for your energy business: 1. Encourage Difficult Questions An agreeable corporate culture is nice but it isn’t always successful.

Innovative companies invite ‘productive agitation’ among the ranks, where people feel comfortable asking challenging questions that upset the status quo, address true problems, and as a result, make things better. For example: What if we gave away our services for free? What if our top two competitors merged? What start-up could put us out of business? What questions are we too scared to ask our customers?

2. Demand ‘Ideas that Get You Fired’ If you want disruptive thinking, you need to prompt it in creative ways.

In your next brainstorm, ask for outrageous ideas. Ask for ideas that would be possible if there were no limits on money or resources.

Eliminate things that typically restrict people’s thinking and you’ll be amazed by the results that you get.

3. Kill Stupid Rules Sometimes, innovation doesn’t mean doing more; it means doing less. Eliminating things that no longer work, are outdated, or get in the way of change. Before you embark on a new innovation initiative or strategic plan, clean out your ‘business closet’. What rules, meetings, processes or reports could you get rid of right now to help you better innovate?

To connect with Lisa, follow her on Twitter @LisaBodell or visit her website, www.futurethink.com

In a world where the most adaptable and agile win, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels: we must find creative and productive ways to make change and innovation a reality. An organization’s chance for success can be improved only when its leaders are courageous enough to thoughtfully question the status quo, and to give its employees the means to make change happen.

BMW i3

The Ultimate Driving Machine

Start-Updates | Epron

Patrick van der Meulen

Founder and Marketing Manager of Enie.nl.

Co-founder and board member of Epron Cooperative

Start-Updates ENIE.NL AND EPRON

NRG Magazine is keeping up-to-date on its favorite energy startups. Yet again, we reached out to Patrick van der Meulen, arguably one of the most hard-working young entrepreneurs, to get an update on how his solar enterprise is doing.

A

part from being busy with bringing first colorful solar panels to the Benelux and uniting sporadic panel installers to operate under the single brand name of Enie.nl, the start-up has also moved on to a joint collaboration with three other companies.

Enie.nl, Relighted, Westera Dark & Gevel and Smit Isolatiegroep have collaborated on launching Epron, an enterprise meant to solve some of the most pressing energy problems in today’s housing field. Four of Epron’s specializations are solar energy, LED lighting, renovation and house isolation, provided by each of the partners respectively. United under the motto "building today for the sustainable future", the company offers personalized services tailored to particular client situations, pioneering monitoring options and flexible financing plans, to name but a few advantages of the package. What's revolutionary about Epron is that all of the four operation fields are normally managed by separate entities but will now be unified together under the single auspices of Epron for the sake of greater consumer satisfaction.

The result of this unification is that the end customer will not have to turn to different companies when seeking solutions to everyday energy consumption problems, but can opt for a more comprehensive package of smart energy services from Epron.

"We want to make a totally sustainable house", says Patrick, "and we started the cooperation to achieve that goal". The next step for Epron would be to get support from local municipalities to raise awareness about the options that local residence have to cut energy costs.

According to Patrick, Epron’s first project house in Eexterveen is a sport facility with more than 75 solar panels and some massive LED lighting, the latter saving up to 25% total energy consumption of the building.

FIND OUT MORE! Visit www.enie.nl to find out more about Enie.nl's projects and innovations.

NRG Magazine 9

Start-Updates | Sistine Solar

Sistine Solar

Leading by Design “What would the world look like if solar were beautiful?” This was the underlying question when Ido Salama and Senthil Balasubramanian decided to make solar energy a beautiful reality. Ido talks about disrupting the solar industry with design thinking and a unique market proposition.

T

here is beauty in the fact that solar energy is a clean and renewable energy source, and yet the panels themselves look the same as they always have. The truth is that solar panels as we know them are not very aesthetically pleasing.

This means that while people accept the idea that solar energy is “good” energy, they also think to themselves “not in my backyard.” Sistine Solar’s mission is to showcase the innate beauty of solar through their stunning designs, captivating the world’s imagination and ushering in the era of clean energy. The purpose of making solar beautiful is to instill a sense of pride when consumers purchase panels, not only because the world needs clean energy but because the world needs art.

Sistine Solar's proposed installation at the Cambridge Public Library would look stunning and generate energy at the same time! The proposed work is entitled "Learning in Motion".

In 2012, during the first year of their MBA, Ido and Senthil were chatting about life and philosophy over drinks. They wondered how to make solar speak to the majority of the world’s population, which is when they thought of focusing on design. After doing some research, they discovered that 99% of solar companies focused on utility and efficiency, but largely ignored solar's design possibilities. Senthil’s experience in the solar space, having developed greenfield solar power plants in emerging markets, complemented Ido’s experience in and eye for product design.

With a team comprised of Jonathan Mailoa, a PhD candidate at MIT’s Photovoltaic Research Laboratory, Samantha Holmes, a graduate of Harvard College for Visual and Environmental Studies and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Ravenna, and Jody Fu, a talented product designer and Mechanical Engineering student at MIT, they found the perfect combination of expertise and artistic flair to make solar beautiful. Traditionally, solar manufacturers focus on producing the lowest cost, highest efficiency panels, and add design as an afterthought. “We challenged the status quo by flipping this model on its head. We ask our artist to dream up unconstrained designs and then challenge our solar engineer to create an efficient system out of it. It’s about leading with unparalleled design and then making it efficient, not the other way around” says Ido. Sistine Solar won the renewables track of MIT’s Clean Energy Prize in 2013 as they demonstrated concrete action being taken to spur the mass adoption of solar energy. The team at Sistine Solar has discovered a way to capture people’s imaginations, to drive

10 NRG Magazine

Start-Updates | Sistine Solar

Incremental improvements to our environment just won’t cut it. We need to reach 100% clean energy in our lifetime.

- Ido Salama, Co-Founder of Sistine Solar

the movement towards a clean world where renewable energy reigns. “Over the next few years, design thinking can change people’s perceptions,” shares Ido. Samantha has at her disposal a palette of different colored cells, new materials with large potential for customizability, glass and lamination techniques.

Unfettered creativity dominates the entire design process.

Sistine Solar also has a unique business model. “We decided to enter a market whose payback is not tied to electricity prices, but advertising,” explains Ido. Sistine’s panels will be available around cities to decorate street furniture (bus shelters, benches, street light, trash bins etc.), for instance. Street furniture providers give cities the furniture for free, in return, they get the exclusive right to advertise on these spaces. “Mainly it's outdoor advertising – we sell to the street furniture providers and manufacturers as a way to enhance their design and win contracts,” continues Ido. Every city has a different look and feel as well so the custom panel designs can be adapted accordingly.

The street furniture providers and Sistine Solar decide on the best look and feel. In this way, solar design is never neglected as an afterthought.

“Over the next few years, design thinking can change people’s perceptions.”

While they are based in the USA, Sistine Solar might make its next step an international one. “We are very keen to enter European cities. They set the standard when it comes to tasteful urban installations, and Europeans are very environmentally conscious – we think Sistine Solar would be a great fit for European cities!”, concludes Ido. At the moment, the team is working to complete their first realworld demonstration pilot in Boston, USA next month. Their fiveyear goal is to sell a million tiles and go global to Europe and Asia through other partnerships with street furniture providers. Now, the only thing left to do is capture people’s attention and show them how beautiful solar can be.

The Sistine Solar Team Senthil Balasubramanian Co-Founder

Ido Salama Co-Founder

Jody Fu Product Designer & Mechanical Engineer

Jonathan Mailoa Solar Engineer

Samantha Holmes Artist and Designer

KICKSTART IT! Check out the team’s Kickstarter campaign and help them complete their first demonstration project in Boston! www.kickstarter.com/projects/901859291/parkolation

NRG Magazine 11

Start-Updates | Rockstart

We love star tups just as much as Rockstar t Accelerator does. In fact, we love them so much we went to Demo Day 2014 on Apr il 17th to celebrate the Rockstar t spir it and community! All star tups were able to showcase and present their products and plans to change the world, as well as demonstrate their progress to a large audience made of investors, executives, Rockstar t mentors and press. W hat came out of it? Several European par tnerships, investors meetings and more!

WeShareSolar WeShareSolar (check them out on page 32-33!) announced their new partnership with Ajax stadium where they plan to install 561 solar panels on the stadium’s roof. Individuals will have the opportunity to invest in the project through WeShareSolar’s platform. This is the second big solar project completed through this smart energy startup.

In their the first successful project with FC Groningen (page 30-31) the crowd invested over 300k EUR on 531 solar panels placed on the top of the stadium.

TheCityGame Exciting news came to us from the Greek startup TheCityGame - an app that empowers users to perform good deeds for the environment and society. The team announced that they have closed a deal with the biggest recycling company in the Balkans, ANAMET, which will use their app to encourage and enhance recycling behavior. Way to go team!

Photography by Dieter Schalk, www.dieterschalk.com

12 NRG Magazine

Start-Updates | Rockstart

y a D o Dem 4 1 0 2 y g r e n Smart E

“The reactions exceeded expectations. There is no bigger reward for us than having an investor approach us right after our pitch about wanting to invest and be part of our funding round.

page 16-19

Just today, we arranged 9 meetings with potential investors that will be taking place in Amsterdam within the next month.�

- Yaniv Reibenbach, CEO of PowerTags about Demo Day NRG Magazine 13

Innovation | Shell

Shell

and the

Art of Innovation

This year marks 100 years of research & development at the celebrated Shell Technology Centre in Amsterdam (STCA).

Shell is a large-scale multinational with the velocity to innovate. Many talk about how difficult it is for processoriented companies to move forward with innovation (see Lisa Bodell in our foreword), but it seems that Shell has found the secret to success. The company fosters open innovation through a variety of programs, a process toolkit and a practical one. Thijs Jurgens, VP Innovation at Shell shares the art of innovation within the company and the secret.

CO-CREATION IS KEY

“It takes two to tango, but due to the complexity of our industry in Shell’s case – it often takes 4 to 7,” says Thijs. It doesn’t take one or two masterminds, but the multi-faceted combination of fastmoving, creative entrepreneurs, academics, corporates, financial parties and policy makers which Shell brings together and helps them scale up innovative projects. The secret to innovation lies within co-creation and bringing the necessary expertise together.

“We recognize that a lot of R&D is happening outside of Shell and other big corporations. Speed and efficiency is important and the more we can cocreate or build on achievements of others, the more we can contribute to innovation.”

“The ultimate objective is to harness the strengths of the various partners and ensure everyone plays a role,” says Thijs. “This is easiest when working with like-minded individuals from large corporations. But the art form comes through diversity and that means working with the innovators or semiacademics, semi-hobbyists, which Shell has learned to do through GameChanger, our open innovation program that is based on radical and blue sky ideas,” he continues.

It’s a matter of doing R&D with purpose – Shell solves problems and creates opportunities instead of digging deeper out of sheer curiosity. “We recognize that a lot of R&D is happening outside of Shell and other big corporations.

Speed and efficiency is important and the more we can co-create or build on achievements of others, the more we can contribute to innovation,” adds Thijs.

Although Shell is a large-scale and process-oriented company, they’ve made it possible to innovate through collaboration and to build new ideas, no matter who you are. “We have a number of programs that each cater to potential partners with different 14 NRG Magazine

Thijs Jurgens

VP of Innovation at Shell

needs,” says Thijs. There are a few criteria when selecting the most appropriate innovation program for different partners. First is the maturity of the idea – whether it’s blue sky, or fairly mature and only in need of testing. If the idea is new, GameChanger would be the most appropriate program. If the collaboration is based on financial support or investment, the project would fall under Shell Technology Ventures. Another program, Shell TechWorks, deals with players in completely different industries like aerospace and medical, from which Shell can learn a lot, according to Thijs. “We have learned that we need to adapt and be flexible to different partner needs, and have consequently created several open innovation programs to suit all types of innovators,” says Thijs.

THE ROLE OF THE FACILITATOR

“The statement that small companies are faster and are more flexible to innovate is true for isolated technologies,” says Thijs, “but when it comes to system integration, this is where companies like Shell come in and play an important role.” Shell’s added value for startups or independent innovators is that it can facilitate the upscaling of their ideas and solutions. Thijs further explains that, “the energy system is complex – that’s just the way it is. It is capital intensive and it needs to be integrated. It is easy to put a wind mill in your garden or a solar panel on your roof, but if you want to industrialize and see reliability, affordability and sustainability combined, then we see a big integrated complex system.”

PINPOINTING THE INNOVATION

Ten years ago, through GameChanger, Shell encountered a revolutionary idea which is currently being developed in practice.

Shell is building a floating LNG project – the first of its kind. To really explain how disruptive the project is, Thijs says that “at the moment, LNG plants are typically onshore, and are approximately 1 km2 in size. This means that you can only extract and develop fuels that are onshore or at pipeline distance from the coast. The problem is that more than half of the world (think: oceans) is too

Innovation | Shell

Shell combines its in-house core strength - its technological horsepower - with a very open mind set.

- Thijs Jurgens, VP Innovation at Shell

Shell Technology Centre Amsterdam

far away to access. By building an LNG plant on a floating vessel, the other 50% of the planet or more suddenly opens up for gas production.”

Shell also focuses on making cleaner gas and reducing their environmental impact. Not all innovation meets the eye, though.

The catalyst area of innovation improves the refinery processes or gas-to-liquid process, returning a greater yield, while also making the gas cleaner. In the drilling area, they aim to reduce harmful impact by making well designs slimmer and more environmentally friendly.

If we dig further into Shell’s innovation toolkit, we also find Shell Technology Ventures. Under this program exists GlassPoint Inc. – an American company that Shell has invested in. GlassPoint is so unique because they use concentrated solar energy to generate steam and when that steam is rejected into the ground, it heats oil so it becomes more fluid and therefore, flows easier into the oil wells. “This way, we increase the ultimate recovery of oil using a lower carbon option: solar power,” explains Thijs.

Shell Open Innovation Programs Shell GameChanger

looks at blue sky, disruptive and radical ideas

Shell TechWorks

is meant to find existing technology from other industries

Shell Technology Ventures

is for those projects where investment is at the core of the collaboration.

External Technology Collaboration is a brokers cooperation with academia and established research institutes

With these programs specifically designed to aim at co-creation, the art of innovation at Shell is off the beaten track. It has now been proven that through a collaborative success formula, innovation in large companies is possible, time and time again.

NRG Magazine 15

TABBY Revolutionizing eMobility | TABBY

BUILD YOUR OWN

Dream Car I

f we don’t move now towards making major changes to the way we work, live and produce, we may just be 16 years away from potential destruction, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Simone Cicero, Spokesman and Open Source & Platform Strategist at OSVehicle, is faithful that this change will come from consumers. Consumers have the ability to build and produce their own vehicles, which in turn eliminates the need to produce in highly polluting factories. This is why OSVehicle has developed the first open-source, “build-ityourself” vehicle, an innovation that may change the future of automotive forever. We’ve already seen IKEA’s success with build-it yourself and customizable furniture, now

meet TABBY.

16 NRG Magazine

Revolutionizing eMobility | TABBY

“The ideal open source business model is all about value-added services and platforms. ” How did you become an open source expert?

Well, I am a technical engineer but I’ve always been interested in open source and with time, my interest within open source expanded to peer-to-peer (P2P) models. I started blogging in 2008 and interviewing people…I remember the first interview I did was with Michel Bauwens, who founded the P2P foundation.

It was so inspiring. I started digging into open and P2P models more and more and one thing led to another. Here I am today.

How did you get involved with OSVehicle?

It really started when I met the guys from OSVehicle at Maker Fair Rome where TABBY was being showcased for the first time.

I was at the Maker Fair representing the Open Source Hardware Association and stumbled across the TABBY project. So, we started talking. The guys wanted me to join the team to handle the strategy of the platform, because this is my expertise.

What is your ideal open source business model?

Open source business models are more or less the same as other business models, but the difference is that you don’t sell your IP rights (IPR) and you don’t have rents. The open source business model pushes you to innovate very steadily – you can’t just sit on top of your IPRs and patents. This is a good way for companies to focus on innovation and to build resilient connections with real businesses, people and communities.

Really, the only difference is that you don’t have to sell or protect your IPRs. However, the consequence is that you can be copied. The situation is very complex for cultural assets, like music and images but it’s different for cars. If I make a song, it’s really impossible to protect. Someone can just copy it, so you don’t sell a song, you sell a concert. With cars, even if I give you all the designs, you cannot create a car if you don’t have facilities, connections, suppliers, or you don’t know how to go to manufacturing hubs like those existing in China to build, for example, the transmission of the car, and don’t know how to source parts etc.

At OSVehicle we want to add value, not just sit on top of our rents.

So, the ideal open source business model is all about valueadded services and platforms.

Simone Cicero

Simone Cicero is a strategist, product and service designer focused on co-design, design thinking and innovation. He’s a blogger and public speaker, OuiShare Connector and Program Fellow for the OuiShare Fest and founder of Hopen Think Tank in Rome. Simone also has a long history of experience within the open source hardware domain while being Co-Chair of the Open Source Hardware Summit 2014 and International Branches Chair at Open Source Hardware Association.

Check him out at www.meedabyte.com NRG Magazine 17

Revolutionizing eMobility | TABBY

We are releasing the open source model because we want people to try building locally and even invent new ways of building TABBY. We are not linked to the idea of tangible production but to innovation. OSVehicle’s mission is not just to make money, but also to write a new page in the automotive industry – we want to enable niche and emerging markets.

What exactly will OSVehicle be selling?

WHAT'S THAT? Open Source

Something that can be modified because its design is publicly accessible.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P)

A special kind of network describing computers that are networked to each other without a central server involved.

IP Rights (IPR)

The protection of one's creations, which have both a moral and a commercial value.

Fab Lab

A Fab Lab is a technical prototyping platform which facilitates innovation and invention for local entrepreneurship. Essentially, it is a knowledge sharing network of learners, educators, researchers, technologists and innovators across 30 countries and 24 time zones. It’s where you play, create, learn, mentor, and invent.

18 NRG Magazine

We will be selling kits and services. At the moment, we are in TABBY´s prototyping phase, but we are looking for funds to reach the industrial stage of production. With funding we will be able to hit the price point that we are looking for, we will be selling TABBY kits and a service that we call “do-it-together.” This service will help new entrepreneurs, startups and brands to create new vehicles since they don’t generally have knowledge about the process of building a car.

What will we find in your kits?

You can find the car chassis (a parametric, modular chassis) that you can tweak to your own preferences. Also, within time you’ll be able to buy our original hybrid engine. It is the smallest, most affordable engine ever built. That’s the kit for now but we’re also experimenting to create kits for the body of the vehicles. You can buy the kits and build the car on your own, although they won’t be road legal if you build it yourself.

Can we also purchase already built TABBY’s?

Yes, besides purchasing our kits, another option is buying the car from us, customizing the car to make it your own and then get the car built locally. To build the car locally, we manufacture the basic kit in China for now and we send it using logistics that are much more efficient because we can put 16 TABBYS in one container, four times more than you can do with normal, assembled cars. We ship the kits/boxes like IKEA furniture and our official assembling partner with certifiable skills can build the car using the kit and integrate it with other parts that make it ready for the road, actually building the car locally.

Revolutionizing eMobility | TABBY

How do we make TABBY road legal?

Well, to give you a little bit of TABBY’s history, the model we started from is not a traditional car - it’s a light, four wheel vehicle, or an urban vehicle. It’s exactly like the Renault Twizy model. This model doesn’t need to comply with strict security tests because it is lower to the ground and doesn’t run at 200 km - it’s a city car, and it’s easy to obtain certifications. But, we are partnering with international certification partners to simplify the certification process. If you buy the car from our authorized dealer it’s safe and certified because we professionally assembled it and certified it beforehand making it road legal.

Renault Twizy

Is TABBY sustainable?

If you create a customized car – let’s say you have a circuit and you want 20 TABBYs to have the Grand Prix in your backyard and you’ve made some modifications – you’ve lessened the power and you want it certified because you want these cars on the road to showcase your brand. You need to certify them to make them road legal, and you will be able to do that thanks to our certification partners that simplifies the process. It’s a little more complicated in Europe though where road legal standards are most stringent, but once you’re good on European market, you’re going to be road legal basically everywhere.

It’s not just about environmental sustainability but also social sustainability. We want to build things in a distributed manner so that you can lower your CO2 impact. In reality, 20% of the price of a car comes from logistics and from distribution. 20% is not that much, but if you think that the car has a 15-20 year lifecycle it's a lot. We want to change this from a social perspective by creating a profit chain that is better distributed across the whole value chain. Right now, what you have is the producer taking a chunk of profit, the distributor with another chunk and with a very small chunk going the designer. We want to make sure everyone gets the right part of the profit that is generated – designers, assemblers, fabricators, service providers, entrepreneurs, etc. It’s all about equal sharing.

What exactly will my customized car look like?

How do you convince people that change is needed?

What we are aiming to do is overcome the concept of the average car. The idea in the long run is that you can create your own car using modules like Lego. So you can say “I want a longer, a faster car or a taller car.” Your car will be your car. But there will be also basic templates that you can buy. For example, an urban smart car or an electric car which would look like your average car.

As a professional customer, like a brand or a startup, you’ll be able to use the open platform to create a new, branded vehicle and go to the market very fast and easily. As an end user, you’ll be able to pick the vehicle you like, from a range of OSVehicle-based products, and customize it according to your likes.

OSVehcicle’s key is that it is built by a team of seasoned professionals who have been working in the automotive sector for decades, so it’s really aiming to be the average car in terms of quality and finishing, but with your own twist. On top of that, it’s environmentally and socially friendly because it’s built locally with optimized logistics!

“Your car will be your car.”

What are TABBYS main challenges?

The major challenge will be branding within the market. People are not used to buying cars from independent producers, but this will change. It’s changing in every market – niche markets are emerging and brands are transforming. Nowadays, the biggest companies in the world depend on the intangible value of brands. The lifecycle for a company is falling to 18 years and will continue downwards. Brand life is shortening and the very concept of a brand is changing. What we can expect is that we can create an open source car and you can become a brand yourself. So, the market we are aiming at is not made of one kind of customer or one car brand. We are aiming at several niche markets made of one designer who makes one car for a tribe or community. In this case, you don’t need a brand because what makes you trust the creator is an actual link between two people, not an impersonal brand. This is the market we’re aiming for and these markets are developing more and more in different industries like music and electronics.

“It's all about equal sharing.”

The idea is that there is already demand for change. We don’t need to convince anybody. So, when we give enablers to the people, the entrepreneurs will convince the customers. It’s just a matter of making things possible. The point is not really convincing anyone to buy our product because that is the marketing approach – I produce, you buy. Instead, it’s about enabling people to create new kinds of solutions.

Where do you think the prime market for TABBY is?

Apart from the approach I just described, that is related to enabling niche markets such as that of smart city transportation, golf cars, airport cars, food trucks, and many more, TABBY-like solutions are also perfect and easy for emerging countries. Take Africa for example with a 60 billion market emerging. Old brands are trying to do business in a traditional manner with car models that are maybe 30 years old. It still works because sustainable solutions are not a priority but entrepreneurs in Africa can take TABBY, our tools, and solve their community problems. Building the car doesn’t require power tools – they can just receive the kit and build. Plus, in Africa, there are no strict regulations or standards, so it works more easily.

What are your upcoming plans?

The most important activities we’re carrying out these days are twofold: on the one hand, we are moving forward with technical development. We are currently designing a new and improved version of the chassis and finalizing our Hybrid Engine. On the other hand, we are starting a structured community initiative.

The amount of feedback we received is overwhelming and unexpected so it’s hard to keep up with the pace of the requests from designer and small entrepreneurs. A cool thing to mention although it’s not confirmed yet, but we are working to be part of a workshop at the Fab10 conference in Barcelona this year. At the workshop, six FabLabs will work together on a car design. The idea is to create a car that you can actually build in a FabLab .

It’s not possible now, but maybe this will become possible in five years - they will use designs to build cars in innovative ways, and we will be the “platform” that makes it possible.

NRG Magazine 19

Revolutionizing eMobility | Tesla

Tesla's

Electric There’s something about Tesla that fascinates us all. The futuristic, space age aspect of the user experience, the highspeed thrill, the sleek and adaptable design and to top it off: zero emission driving. Tesla makes our dreams come true, but we mustn’t forget that behind every great dream, lies a great team that made it possible. Diarmuid O'Connell,VP of Business Development at Tesla, tells us what the company is all about when the curtains are closed.

E Diarmuid O'Connell

VP of Business Development at Tesla Motors

20 NRG Magazine

ven the way Diarmuid describes his title and responsibilities gives us a sense of Tesla’s culture.

“VP of Business Development has been at times a catch-all title where the scope of my activities has been rather diverse and my role has been unconventional,” says Diarmuid. Over time his role has involved traditional business development, but also corporate development, public policy, governmental and strategic affairs. Diarmuid came across Tesla in California, during his venture to find the ideal combination of a novel and practical technology for eliminating oil in the transportation economy with a business model focused on disrupting the traditional automotive and energy industries. “Historically, what we have done here in Silicon Valley is to start businesses that challenge established orthodoxies and introduces novel and practical solutions. Tesla is an ideal platform for doing that,” he shares.

Revolutionizing eMobility | Tesla

I

n 2008, Diarmuid helped open Europe’s gates for Tesla and more recently, supported Tesla’s launch in China this year.

Globally, Tesla aims to operate consistent with local norms and practices without imposing an American management structure. Flexibility and adaptability reigns within the company. Tesla’s corporate culture is light on bureaucracy so that they can innovate quickly. “We haven’t accepted the conventions or normal constraints of the industry. Every time we think about a new feature or possibility, we haven’t gone immediately to the rule book of the norms of the industry – we’ve basically taken a clean sheet approach and said: given where we are right now and what technology now makes possible, what should we do?” explains Diarmuid. Although this open, flexible but aggressive operating style suits the American market perfectly, it has also posed problems in others – like Europe, where certain rules lead to a very formal ways of doing business. In China, the entrepreneurial spirit exists to the fullest, but constraints can be encountered, when moving through certain bureaucratic levels. Nonetheless, Tesla is still meeting consumer desires in all markets.

the vehicle’s handling and acceleration is better than any other in its class. The futuristic aspect with the big touch screen control system and the fact that charging the car at no cost (never having to pay for fuel again), makes Tesla irresistible to consumers.

Safety is paramount – the Model S has received the best safety ratings of any car tested before.2 This is because under the hood of the car, there is no large gasoline engine block, offering a larger crumple zone that absorbs high speed impact. Not only that, but Tesla is the only car in the world that gets cleaner every day, as more renewable energy feeds the grid the vehicles run off of. It’s also one of the only cars available that improves its performance over its lifetime due to the ability to dynamically improve the software systems of the car, regularly. There you have it – the sublime and glorious Tesla experience.

1. www.ted.com/talks/elon_musk_the_mind_behind_tesla_spacex_solarcity#t-242250 2. www.teslamotors.com/about/press/releases/tesla-model-s-achieves-best-safety-rating-any-carever-tested 3. http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you

The Success Formula

Tesla’s been the first to develop the core of drive change technology, with the battery, motor and power electronics. It certainly helps that they got it right the first time. After they developed the technology, they started tapping into what’s most important – technology that solves issues and excites people.

“First came the sports car, then the exciting performance sedan and next an affordable and compelling mass market EV – that’s the key to our success,” shares Diarmuid. “It comes down to three things,” he continues. “Tesla offers a long range (502 km), so the idea of range anxiety is off the table; the other is that we’ve unlocked the advantages of the properties of an electric motor and we offer a high performance experience so you can accelerate very quickly, which is exciting. Third is the simple fact that the cars are very attractive when you look at them and have compelling functionality like the large touch screen interface.”

Commander-in-chief: Elon Musk

“He’s a visionary – he paints an aggressive vision,” says Diarmuid about Elon. “He also has extraordinary detail orientation. If there’s a problem in one sector of the business, he will dive into that down to the minutiae.” There are plenty of opportunities for staff and the public to see Elon. During the launch of Model S, Elon had his desk on the factory floor so he could be right in the middle of the action. “He wants to be where the centre of gravity is, whether there’s a problem, a challenge or an opportunity,” says Diarmuid.

Elon is the kind of leader that takes direct action and will dig as far as necessary until he’s fully satisfied that there are the right people and resources in place. Tesla also uses a very open and direct feedback loop, actively soliciting consumer reactions. Due to the company’s flexibility, it’s very easy to implement desired changes from consumers.

DOWN TO THE TINIEST DETAIL Even the Tesla's key is genius. It's shaped like a miniature version of the car. Tesla's innovative battery is integrated into the base of the car's chassis (above), making it one of the safest cars on the market, and giving it more stability.

Add this to your bucket list: buy a Tesla. The joy and excitement of the driving experience with high performance is one of a kind. With a low centre of gravity,

TESLA PATENTS ARE YOURS Elon Musk has a bigger vision: Tesla revolutionizes the way we drive, SolarCity revolutionizes the way we generate energy, and SpaceX revolutionizes human existence and the way we live. And he does not stop there! From now on, all Tesla's patents are open source! "Our true competition is not the small trickle of non-Tesla cars being produced, but rather the enormous flood of gasoline cars pouring out of the world's factories every day.''3

NRG Magazine 21

Revolutionizing eMobility | BMW

BMW i BORN ELECTRIC The BMW i concept is a bold step towards offering the possibility to travel 100% green, while preserving the driving thrill typically associated with regular combustion engine BMW models.

The idea of sustainable mobility is elevated to a new level with an all-electric i3 vehicle for a quick city get-around, and a stylish i8, one of the most progressive sport cars to date.

T

hese cars are said to have been “born electric,” as explained by Marc Bras, Manager of BMW i at BMW Group Netherlands: “We didn’t put an electric drive train into existing BMW cars, we have developed the all new electric models from the very start.” The resulting visionary outlook of the cars clearly reflects this approach, since both i3 and i8 were tailor-made to be electric.

“What distinguishes BMW overall is the vision of the world and the future, particularly the future of mobility. I think we’ve made a huge change when we decided to focus on cleaner engines and stopped with Formula 1. The engineers working within that initiative were diverted into developing lighter and more efficient BMW cars,” explains Marc.

can offer customers is to inform them about all charging points, making them aware of how to charge their car efficiently and plan trips accordingly.” This complements the overall vision of BMW, where the company concentrates on more than just development and selling: “charging should be made easy, efficient and fast.”

It’s all about customer satisfaction and the additional mobility services BMW can provide, above and beyond selling vehicles.

“We are so

proud of the recyclable materials used and we The i8 model is the result of Project i initiated back show them off in 2008, as BMW’s first move towards reshaping on purpose, urban mobility. The revolutionary hybrid successfully combines a combustion engine and rather than an electric motor – it looks like a breathtakingly covering them beautiful sports car and feels the same, while remaining energy-conscious. as usual.”

The i3 is meant for travelling around urban areas - an aspect not to be ignored when purchasing it. However, while the battery power won’t allow for travelling cross country, the car can cover up to 160 km without needing a charge. Marc notes: “the best service we 22 NRG Magazine

High-quality, sustainable materials distinguish the BMW i vehicles from other electric cars. “We are so proud of the recyclable materials used and we show them off on purpose, rather than covering them as usual,” shares Marc. The dashboards are made of Kenaf fiber, obtainable from a natural plant, and the passenger compartment is made of carbon produced

by BMW at its factory in Washington State, USA. The latter decreases production costs and environmental damage, since the factory operates on hydro power.

Because of its governmental subsidies, the Netherlands remains a very potent market for electric vehicles, since resulting smaller taxation is a powerful factor in the buying decision. In the future, this can be changed by making electric cars so appealing that consumers are attracted to them regardless of the beneficial tax consequences. “We want our cars to be fun to drive.

These are the features and the character that we believe all our cars should have,” concludes Marc.

Put your TALENT

to the test!

The NRG Battle – World Edition is a global energy competition where top talents meet for four days to work in multidisciplinary teams of five on challenging cases provided by companies.

Win a trip around the world or the chance to apply your solution in practice!

Join us in Copenhagen by signing up at www.nrgbattle.com Hurry! Time is running out.

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As a partner of NRG Battle –World Edition 2014 you will: • Gain significant exposure at the IGRC2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark • Gain online access to carefully preselected Top Talents from over 90 countries • Showcase your latest developments • Create awareness about your company’s view on the future of energy

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Revolutionizing eMobility | Orphiro

Orphiro The

A

Electric Cruiser

lexander Steegh never expected to design motorcycles. When he was asked by a reintegration firm helping troubled young people enter the workforce to create an environment where they could learn useful skills, the idea came upon him to have them make motorcycles. But not just any motorcycles – electric motorcycles that could be assembled in the Netherlands, be attractive to the Dutch weekend driver and that would promote a sustainable future. He looked around and there simply weren’t any electric motorcycles on the market that looked to fit these criteria. So he thought – why not build one myself?

“I didn’t want to focus on speed; I wanted to focus on joy.”

Before Orphiro, most electric motorcycles were all about speed. “I didn’t want to focus on speed; I wanted to focus on joy,” Alexander explains with enthusiasm brightening his voice. Like a crossbreed between a Harley Davidson and a Tesla, the Orphiro is all about style. It’s the only cruiser-type electric motorcycle in the world and it’s the type of bike you roll out on sunny summer weekends and show off to your friends. It’s responsive, it’s fun and it’s devilishly good-looking.

Orphiro’s unique look is defined by its robust body, offset by sleek details like the gravity-defying seat

24 NRG Magazine

and broad, slender handlebar.

Alexander laughs, “I did my utmost to make it masculine, but when I showed it at the electric automotive fair in Rotterdam, I’ve never seen so many women smiling while sitting on a motorcycle. They absolutely loved it.”

Alexander Steegh

Alexander Steegh is a contemporary entrepreneur with a background in international business development and advertising, now working in the labor market. He has a passion for integrating beautiful design with sustainable energy and socially responsible craftsmanship

One of the best things about the Orphiro is how it moves. It’s been described as the Tesla of motorcycles – smooth, intuitive, and utterly silent. The silence is surprising to people used to the booming engines of traditional motorcycles. “Most people don’t understand, “Alexander says, “it’s so simple to start, and so silent… people aren’t used to it.”

Since its debut as a concept bike, Orphiro has gotten a lot of hype. The only thing slowing the project down is the state of the motorcycle industry. Since the crisis, there has been a decline in motorcycle sales and a drastic drop in prices. Even the best new motorcycles only sell for around 13 000 EUR or less. Even so, electric vehicles are on the rise, and there are still markets for luxury bikes. Orphiro is poised for public launch as soon Alexander finds the right talents and funding to bring it from prototype to production.

Orphiro is Alexander’s way to promote the idea of sustainable mobility. “I’ve already succeeded,” Alexander says, “people are enthusiastic about the possibility of buying a sustainable motorcycle.” It’s a different type of electric vehicle: not a peoplecarrier or a super-speed racer, but a sleek and sexy way to get around and look good doing it.

Find out more about Orphiro at www.orphiro.nl

Revolutionizing eMobility | Stella

STELLA Racing with Solar

Meet the World’s First Solar-Powered, Energy Positive Family Car

S

tella is the result of bright minds coming together for the World Solar Challenge race in Australia. A team of students from the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have built the world’s first solar-powered, energy positive family car.

They won first place in the Michelin Cruiser class by beating their competitors as they drove from Darwin to Adelaide, solely on solar power. Stella was judged on a combination of different factors: comfort, features, design, parallel parking and cargo space.

The main goal of the team, led by Lex Hoefsloot, was to create a solar car with extended range – far beyond the 100-200 km limit of typical electric cars. “We thought: why isn’t there a solar vehicle that combines driving and energy efficiency with comfort and practicality?”says Lex. The 20-member team decided to create one itself and today Stella can drive up to 800 km on a single charge. “Building the car only took three months – you have 20 people on the team but also 100 people from different companies working on various parts of the car and 60-70 sponsors,” shares Lex. TU/e has been very supportive in solving these kinds of societal problems and helping their top students work to generate energy themselves.

way,” he continues. Car2car communication is the next big thing in automotive technology. “It’s the future of autonomous driving or highly automated cars,” explains Maurice. “In a few years from now, cars will communicate with each other to warn one another of dangerous situations or traffic jams.” What’s unique about Stella is that it is the world’s only car that generates more energy than it uses. Stella is always connected to the grid when it’s charging, and even when the car is fully charged, the solar panels continue to generate energy that feeds back into the grid. Maurice: “This is the first credible family car that four people can fit in, and adds more energy to the grid than it takes from it.”

“Stella’s greatest feature is that it speaks to the imagination of mankind.”

Maurice also came up with the idea to send Stella to the US and Peter van Deventer will be bringing Stella to California and Detroit. “This will play a very important role in further developing the grand idea and attract resources, knowledge and investments to make Stella’s potential come true,” says Peter. The next steps for the team to showcase Stella’s new technological capabilities in America.

This year’s solar team has definitely learned some lessons that will be passed on to the next generation of solar players. “We’ve learned how – Peter van Deventer, to build a light car, use the right materials and Coast to Coast e-Mobility When Solar Team Eindhoven approached combine different parts of the car to get the Maurice Geraets, Senior Director of New structural outer shape. We’ve also learned how to Business at NXP Semiconductors Netherlands, for financial and make an aerodynamic car: in Stella, you can see that the back of innovative technology sponsorship, NXP was quite excited. the car is reduced and so there is less turbulence and less energy “We helped them manage the battery and the car, with car2car consumption. Stella can drive on public roads, and 25% of what communication and also with the internal communication because we invested last year has gone into road legislation. There are a there are many computers on the inside that must communicate lot of rules, and we now know how to deal with them, which will with one another,” says Maurice. “We provided them with the help the future team a lot,” concludes Lex. right set of chips and offered them technical support along the

NRG Magazine 25

Rethinking Infrastructure | Fastned

FASTNED The New Highway Hub An Outlook on the Future of Electric Charging

In the future, charging an electric vehicle won’t be much different from going to the gas station for fuel. We are slowly moving towards a world where old-fashioned gas stations will be obsolete. Instead, highway service areas might turn into multi-purpose hubs, incorporating gasoline and charging stations, as well as quality shops.

T

his is the scenario envisaged by Michiel Langezaal. More than two years ago, he founded Fastned, a network of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) in the Netherlands.

The future is clear to Michiel: “an electric car is a better form of mobility compared to old-fashioned gasoline cars. It’s just a better product, like a Plasma TV compared to the old-fashioned bulky CRT type.” Companies are aiming to offer electric cars at prices similar to those of existing gasoline cars, the batteries are becoming cheaper and the fast-charging sector is booming.

“Increased range and faster charging will bring more freedom to the electric car. In a couple of years the industry will reach the point of no return, its ‘Kodak moment,’ argues Michiel. The increased number of EVs on Dutch roads creates a demand for charging infrastructure. This is what Fastned is focusing on.

As explained by Michiel, the existing network of car service areas along the Dutch highways was developed by the government back in 1970 to 1990. At that point, these designated areas were meant to cater for cars running on fossil fuels, meaning that they only had gasoline stations. However, responding to the shift towards eMobility, the government has now also issued concessions for charging stations. Michiel continues: “These charging stations will be built on the same service areas along the already existing gasoline stations. Soon there will be electricity at all these service areas as well.”

Michiel shares the view that it is nearly impossible nowadays to integrate gas and electricity within one station: “Gas stations are controlled by oil companies who do not want electric cars.

In some time, gasoline will be too precious to burn and they (oil companies) know that. New technology, the electric vehicle, now offers the public the option to choose different and stop burning gas.”

The gas stations of today will give way to the stations of tomorrow, offering quality and affordable fast-charging options to EV owners, as well as a layer of additional services like shops and cafés.

Creating such hubs is Fastned’s goal and the logical next step in the clean mobility movement.

The widespread concern related to fast-charging used to be that such charging would negatively affect the battery. Michiel comments on this: “There is nothing wrong with fast-charging a battery, which was initially meant to be fast-charged. It could bad, though, for batteries not designed for such handling.” Cars offering their drivers the option to fast charge are fitted with the right batteries. He adds: “I was in a taxi in Amsterdam recently, in a Nissan Leaf. It had already driven 150.000 kilometres and the driver told me that there were no noticeable detrimental effects on the vehicle’s range, although he had fast charged it at least 3 or 4 times a day.”

“Electricity itself is not expensive, but we need costly infrastructure to make use of it.”

Will electric cars overtake the market? How will the future of mobility look? These are questions consumers wonder about. We can see, however, that more companies like Fastned are needed to propel the change in people’s mindsets and the industry itself.

With time, more players of this kind will emerge on the market, ensuring access to charging facilities for the growing number of EV owners. Plug-in vehicle drivers in the US are already making use of public charging stations, located at libraries, hospitals and shopping centers.

1. www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity_basics.html

26 NRG Magazine

Rethinking Infrastructure | Amsterdam V2G

CONSUMER BY DAY GENERATOR BY NIGHT VEHICLE-TO-GRID

V2G allows electric-gasoline hybrids or fully electric vehicles to provide power back to the grid. Electric cars are built with a powerful energy source and a wealth of advanced power electronics capable of producing enough energy to run a home or an office. A fully electric car can draw or produce up to 19 kW, an amount that could fulfill the average power needed for 13 homes.1 Just think about how much time a car spends in a parked position.

We might drive during our commute, but the other 95% of the time our cars are just sitting there, idle. With the Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) system, they can be put to work. Having a V2G system in place means increased reliability and efficiency for the existing electric grid. When the grid is overloaded, V2G cars can take on extra power and ease the burden. When reserves are low, they can supplement the system. This becomes a stable, self-correcting system, reducing the impact of energy fluctuations. Essentially, it becomes a smart grid.

Individually, locally produced renewable energy and electric vehicles may cause severe pressure on the grid, especially in dense urban areas. Solar production cannot be controlled, and electric vehicles can cause an enormous grid demand when charging occurs simultaneously. However, when intelligently combined, these two drawbacks become a cornerstone in the energy transition. Electric vehicles absorb surplus production in the neighborhood and return this energy during the early morning and evening period. The technology is there, and the next challenge addresses smart logistics, energy taxation and an open, fair energy exchange system for all stakeholders.

AMSTERDAM’S SMART GRID

What better place to implement the V2G concept than in one of Europe’s most forward-thinking urban centers? Since February 2014, a network of houses in Amsterdam’s New-West quarter has been experiencing a taste of this energy future. It has been the ultimate collaboration. Liander has been acting as the grid operator, while Mastervolt provided the technology and Resourcefully coordinated as a smart energy consultancy.

Together they are proving that energy autonomy is all about local energy production and local storage. It’s all about optimizing personal energy use, relieving the burden of the grid, and creating space for a large-scale implementation of electric mobility.

THE INITIAL RESULTS ARE IN!

Since the project started, staggering changes have been made towards energy autonomy. In March of last year, 83% of energy consumed came from the grid, with only 17% coming from private and clean energy sources. Now, the majority (73%) is selfgenerated solar energy, with only 27% coming from the network.

Energy is being generated locally, stored locally, and used locally. If systems like this continue to be implemented, room will be made for an ideal EV infrastructure, with an abundance of charging stations that bolster rather than burden the grid.

1. http://www.magicconsortium.org/research_partners.html 2. http://amsterdamsmartcity.com/projects/detail/id/17/slug/nieuw-west-smart-grid 3. http://www.resourcefully.nl/wp/wp-content/uploads/Amsterdam-Vehicle-2-Grid-NL_12032014.pdf 4. http://www.amsterdamvehicle2grid.nl

AMSTERDAM’S VEHICLE-TO-GRID (V2G) REVOLUTION

We spoke to Hugo Niesing, Founder and Director of Resourcefully, about Amsterdam's V2G Revolution. The transition to a smart energy future begins with re-thinking the entire energy system. The Amsterdam V2G project does just that – making electric vehicles not only beneficial to the environment, but beneficial to the entire energy infrastructure.

“It's about exploring the energy customer experience.”

-Jos Blom Innovation and Strategy Consultant, Alliander

“V2G does not necessarily include wheels. Space constraints of a house boat are overcome by mounting the PVstorage batteries in a traditional board boat: V2G and sailing/ navigating on solar power” -Arno van Zwam, Manager of Research & Development, Mastervolt

NRG Magazine 27

Smart City Event | Highlights

Smart City

EVENT NRG Magazine visited the Smart City Event 2014 at the Amsterdam Arena on May 13th & 14th.

Here’s a look at what we learned.

Tesla Test-Drivingistina nity to test HurĂŠ got the opportu itor Cr NRG Magazine's Ed Smar t City Event's l S during one of the de Mo drive the Tesla and extremely fun. were stylish, silent, excursions! The cars

New Ideas in eMobility We had the chance to sit in on some great presentations about cutting-edge ideas in eMobility and Smart City Grids. There were representatives from some of the world's most forward-thinking companies and most game-changing cities!

Innovation Aren

a

28 NRG Magazine

Opening talks were he ld out in the arena itself, with presentations projected on the stadiu m's big screens! From Eindhoven's mayor Ro van Gijzel's welcome to b keynote speeches by Ca rlo Ratti, Director of the MIT Senseable City Lab , and Dan Hill, Executiv e Director of Futures at the UK Future Cities Ca tapult, the show was no t to be missed! If you did miss them, visit http://ww w.smartcityevent.com/ presentations-smart-cityevent to catch up!

Smart City Event | Highlights

The Smart City Event With an opening ceremony on the field of the largest football club in the Netherlands, Ger Baron and Maarten Bouwhuis certainly raised the excitement of what was about to come at the Smart City Event 2014. 400+ attendees from 30 different countries filled Amsterdam Arena in preparation to learn about the new ways in which cities can attain a sustainable and smart transformation.

with Day d1 gram dealt ay of the pro red

The first topics cove Some of the Plan and the smar t cities.

London t r a rove m S e were th gies to imp of technolo r e ow t p r e a iv creat st of Sm lives, the be the Londoners’ cities around t ar sm ow h d ith an w Spain, t movement el the smar world prop cts. smar t proje

Day 2

The second day of the program separated attendees into their chosen interests: Smart Cities, Smart Health or Smart Mobility.

The Smartest Region of the World Rob van Gijzel introduced Eindhoven’s future smart city plans. In 2011, Brainport Eindhoven Region was selected as the smartest region of the world by the Intelligent Community Forum.

We asked Mr. Van Gijzel how he will know or recognize that Eindhoven has truly become a smart city:

“When no one will be left behind and when everyone is included in the digital arena.

When everyone can use the digital tools of the future and we fully see improvements on the smart city themes and then we can measure and rebuild trust and openness in society. We believe that technology can help us a lot to make the city smart, but the systems and the people should adopt the technology to make their lives better. When technology adoption becomes natural in the city, then we know Eindhoven is smart.”

– Rob van Gijzel, Mayor of the City of Eindhoven

What is your Smart City Atlantis?

Several keynote speeches later, inspiring labs, co-creation sessions, round table sessions, and excursions to smart projects, we learned what several cities imagine their “Smart City Atlantis” to be.

“A city where the citizen or visitor if effectively able to optimize their use of the city’s resources – whether that’s using technology, transport, water or power. It’s essentially giving the individual the control to ration their own use of what will always be a fundamentally limited or a valuable resource.”

-Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor, City of London

“First of all, a smart city does not exist, there are only smart people. And people who want to work together. Smart people that are capable, creative and inventive enough to use ICT as a tool to enhance and enrich their lives. The city as an innovative ecosystem can provide the borders of the jigsaw in which people can develop themselves. In this ecosystem, there is much room from trial and error and for living labs. Our city believes highly in living labs to experiment in diverse areas of a smart city, such as education, health and safety.”

e can w t a h W n from learcity of the terdam?

Ams we h is that

trengtny different s s ’ m a d a inatione “Amsteetrty good at m b m o c are pr – we have aents. We ar d things ong ingredi boration, an , of str ood at collan innovationn very g open (ope e). People ca g being infrastructur ring (sharin p open about sha repreneurshi learn my) and ent econo s, as well.”

Officer, from u nology ief Tech

h aron, C –Ger B am rd te s m A City of

– Rob van Gijzel, Mayor of the City of Eindhoven

NRG Magazine 29

Going Solar | FC Groningen

For FC Groningen

GREEN GOLD

is the new

From driving on green gas, to promoting and conserving energy, to their crowd funded solar panel initiative, FC Groningen has been undergoing a true green transformation.

Robbert Klaver, Commercial Director and André Snakenborg, Head of Business Accommodation at FC Groningen, prove just how sustainable the “Green Cathedral” is.

50 000 CUBIC METERS (M3) OF GAS.

That’s the monthly amount of gas that FC Groningen previously consumed in the winter months, especially to heat the pitch.

To understand the enormity of this number, consider that an average household uses approximately 2000 m3 of gas per year. The amount of energy a football club requires to function is often overlooked. From lighting the stadium to heating the pitch, it takes a lot to keep the club fully operational. To reduce their carbon footprint, FC Groningen has taken on several sustainable initiatives that make the colors of their green and white jerseys reflective of their sustainable values.

“Besides playing football, one of the best things we can do is reach This sustainable transformation people” all started with Energy Valley and eMobility back in 2010 when the staff and the players started driving on green gas. “We had a green e-van driving to away games with a nice big cow on it. It gave us a lot of positive exposure,” says Robbert. Northern Dutch energy companies 30 NRG Magazine

like Gasunie and Gasterra saw that cooperating with FC Groningen offered the perfect way to communicate the importance of sustainable living to the public.

“Besides playing football, one of the best things we can do is reach people,” shares Robbert. There are over 3 million FC Groningen fans watching the bi-weekly matches, giving the club an enormous reach. “We wanted to bring energy topics, the club’s sustainable practices, and the fans, together,” adds Robbert.

GOING GREEN

The club defines their values as being innovative and socially involved, a club of the people that's green and sustainable.

Actions speak louder than words, and FC Groningen practices what they preach. Today, the entire club is equipped with light sensors that ensure the lights are switched off when not in use.

“Our electricity usage (which previously amounted to 2.2 million kWh) has been reduced to 1.8 million kWh and our gas usage, especially in mild winters, has been nearly cut in half: 140 000 m3 of gas to 70 000 – 80 000 m3 per year,” shares André. They did so by monitoring and making several technical adjustments to the under-soil heating for a total of two years, allowing for a real

Going Solar | FC Groningen

We bring our social responsibility to all possible elements of our business practice.

We don't just say that we're green and sustainable, but we actually turn those words into action.

- Hans Nijland, CEO of FC Groningen

learning process. This has made a huge impact on the recognition of a green club!

To reduce the amount of gas used to heat the pitch, FC Groningen is initiating collaboration with Waterbedrijf (the water service company) on a seasonal thermal energy storage project. This is one of the most innovative and sustainable projects the soccer world has seen and will cut serious amounts of energy usage. During the summer months, natural heat from the ground will be stored as hot water in underground wells to be used during the winter as a heat source, while in winter months, cold water will be stored for the summer.

They also use a climate system to analyze how much energy is being used and for what. Part of André’s job is to monitor the energy used and armed with accurate data, he and his team can adjust the settings according to what they’ve observed and save even more energy. With this project, FC Groningen aims to reduce approximately 30 000 m3 of gas consumption a year.

COOPERATION WITH WESHARESOLAR

After implementing several sustainable initiatives, FC Groningen’s solar project with WeShareSolar came into play. The club’s initial

idea was to generate solar power to use independently, but the project seemed too expensive in the beginning. WeShareSolar’s solution was to offer a crowd funded financing platform comprised of solar bonds – a project like no other before. FC Groningen fans can purchase solar panels on top of the club’s roof for 550 EUR each, with a 2% or 4.5% ROI, depending on how much power their panels generate. At the end of the 24 year bond period, they receive their initial investment back. FC Groningen is the first stadium in the Netherlands to generate solar power for their fans - 531 panels are already installed and fully functional, and the second phase, with 561 panels, is still being funded while installation is expected this summer. The most unique aspect of the project is that the people are involved and engaged for various reasons: for the “do-good” feeling, to borrow a roof and generate solar energy if they don’t have their own, and to leave their mark on the stadium that is dear to their hearts.

The purpose of these initiatives is to get people enthusiastic about sustainability and demonstrate that we can all make a difference. As FC Groningen moves forward, sustainability remains one of their core values and their fans are inspired to join the green movement, too!

NRG Magazine 31

Going Solar | WeShareSolar

SOLAR M

MEASURING THE ROI

The benefits of purchasing a solar bond are similar to investing money in a savings deposit account. When customers purchase solar bonds, they get a yearly return and at the end of the investment period (24 years), their initial investment is returned.

Although 24 years seems like a long time, the philosophy behind the investment is that solar panels will last much longer that 24 years, so the investment could be extended and continue to provide high returns. Investment decisions remain in the customer’s hands although when investing in WeShareSolar, they also generate their own energy and contribute to a sustainable world.

Customers are able to gather insight into how much energy they’re generating, or use that energy with Essent’s Flukso energy meter.

32 NRG Magazine

uch to our surprise, it isn’t always dark and rainy in the Netherlands. The sun shines once in a while and when it does, the UV index can reach a high of 6 in the summertime.

On one of these sunny days, around three years ago, Sven Pluut wondered how he could take advantage of the sunshine and generate his own solar power. But how to generate solar power when you live in an apartment building with no roof of your own and no access to the right tools? It was on that sunny day that Sven decided to embark on a quest to make solar energy available to everybody in the Netherlands, regardless of their housing conditions. Enter UV Index An international WeShareSolar. WeShareSolar is a platform standard measurement connecting locations looking to fund their of the strength of own solar energy systems with consumers the sun’s ultraviolet wishing to reap the benefits of solar energy. radiation.

Essentially, Sven and Matthijs bridge the accessibility gap; they bring the right knowledge and tools to site owners to develop an efficient solar system and offer the right information to help consumers make well-informed decisions on solar investments. “We take care of financial logistics as well as legal matters via the platform,” shares Sven.

FC GRONINGEN AND WESHARESOLAR

H

ow did WeShareSolar and FC Groningen team up? Essent, knowing that the Pride of the North had long-term ambitions to adopt a solar initiative, introduced WeShareSolar’s initiative to the football club. FC Groningen had been having difficulties finding a solid business model, stuck looking inward and unable to escape the traditional paradigm. When WeShareSolar outlined their solar bond financing solution, FC Groningen was immediately enthusiastic.

Simplicity encourages participation. Bonds are a simple financial instrument - that’s why the bond structure was chosen. “We tried to keep it as simple and transparent as possible for consumers.

When it’s simple, people are able to easily understand and are more willing to join,” share Sven and Matthijs. Both founders fully

R POWER Going Solar | WeShareSolar

With their combined technical and financial exper tise, Matthijs Olieman and Sven Pluut make the perfect team. They are making waves with WeShareSolar, a crowdfunding platfor m that offers individuals the oppor tunity to buy a solar panel on another roof – like FC Groningen’s!

support solar investments and believe in the solar future: “the growth rates of installed capacity are tremendous so the proof is out there, and combining that with the pricing situation means we’re set for growth.” The fact remains that solar is now around 50% cheaper than nuclear power and the price level is starting to compete with CCG turbines.

“We tried to keep it as simple and transparent as possible for consumers.”

In the first phase of the project, 531 panels have been installed, Producing 24.000 kWh of clean community power in it’s first three operational months with 140 KWp installed capacity. The second funding phase for a grand total of 561 panels has just ended and plans are to start installation in July 2014.

The most challenging part of the project for WeShareSolar has been working out details with the varying stakeholders: FC Groningen, Gemeente Groningen, Essent, BAM, GasTerra, Gasunie and Imtech. “Keeping everyone up to date and working out the details was a high workload, which we were doing in our spare time,” says Sven. They also encountered technological challenges when building the complex solar system, which in the end were solved by placing panels on five different orientations and inclinations.

A SECURE INVESTMENT

S

ven came at this project with a uniquely qualified perspective. As a financing expert at Triodos bank, he evaluated and assessed the risks of renewable energy projects. The only risk of investing in the solar market right now, says Sven, is a regulatory risk. “Regulatory risks exist because we are changing the way

Regulatory Risk The risk that changes in laws and regulations will materially impact a security, business, sector or market.

we consume and produce energy on a small scale. Over time, the energy taxation framework, government subsidies and the overall regime will change, causing uncertainty.” In general, if projects are highly dependent on subsidy programs, and there’s no stable subsidy agreement, investments become risky.

WeShareSolar’s investment construction allows for a very low risk investment with a subsidy that exists for 15 years and a structured crowd-funding platform that relies on secure solar bonds (ZoNbligatie). Given the Dutch market’s current positive rating, the regulatory risk here ZoNbligatie is nearly extinguished. “The only other WeShareSolar’s solar possible risk,” raises Matthijs, “is a counter bonds. party risk which involves who you’re selling the power to and where the solar panels are located. In this case, it’s FC Groningen and the Euroborg stadium, owned by the city of Groningen. Both are solid financial counterparts. This means a low counter party risk.”

REACHING A BIGGER CROWD

I

t’s hard work and a lot of responsibility, but Sven and Matthijs are still having a lot of fun. They’ve recently signed a deal with Amsterdam Arena (see page 35) to apply the same project structure as they did at FC Groningen, and are currently working out details. They plan to conquer Europe over the next few years, and then spread to other parts of the world. Next stop: the UK! “UK’s got interesting potential given the economic conditions for solar, the government’s strong ambitions and a high density of big buildings,” adds Matthijs. Upcoming plans are not only to expand but to add value for their customers by adding special features to the platform.

For those interested in generating solar energy without depending on their own roof, and also to contributing to a sustainable world, WeShareSolar is a prime investment opportunity. Private investors, like FC Groningen fans, have made solar power more accessible. Expansion all depends on you – crowd funders.

NRG Magazine 33

Rubriek naam |Naam bedrijf

34 NRG Magazine

Going Solar | Amsterdam Arena

Amsterdam ARENA

Henk van Raan, Facility and Program Director for Sustainability and Innovation and Hein Steer, Technical Expert at Amsterdam ArenA share their journey to creating a climate neutral football stadium by 2015.

A

msterdam ArenA opened its doors in 1996 through a public-private partnership, with intent to boost the Amsterdam South East area’s economy. “It’s comparative to the Romans building the Coliseum,” says Henk “because the Coliseum was built in a undeveloped area and ended up driving the new economy.” Amsterdam aims to become the most sustainable capital in Europe, and the ArenA has a significant role in achieving this goal.

“We look at what we can do inside, under our roof and externally,” shares Henk. Alongside Amsterdam’s sustainability targets, the ArenA has made a promise to be completely climate neutral by 2015 – and they’re almost there. At the moment, there are 6800 m2 of solar panels installed on the stadium’s roof which generates 10% of the total energy used. The other 90% of the energy used comes from Dutch wind energy.

CROWDFUNDING SOLAR

Amsterdam ArenA and WeShareSolar have agreed to partner up on a solar panel initiative. The ArenA wishes to create their own solar valley, near the stadium, on the roof of the biggest hospital in the Netherlands, Amsterdam Medical Center (AMC). There is potential for an additional 15 000 m2 to exist through a co-creation model with WeShareSolar.

The ArenA also has a significant impact on influencing the way citizens and Ajax fans travel by facilitating a cleaner customer journey from their home to the ArenA or wherever their destination may be. There are e-taxis, shuttles, public transport and car pooling available to get to and from the ArenA. For all other destinations, there is an online platform available where service providers and also spectators can go to find the best

and most sustainable travel solutions. Apart from that, the ArenA regularly communicates with citizens via social media to guide them towards their most sustainable journeys.

THE BIG EYE OF AMSTERDAM

All existent energy concepts like heating and cooling have been phased out. The ArenA is cooled using a closed circuit system and they pump water from a lake near the ArenA and the cold water is used to cool the ArenA. The heating system uses waste heat from a power house near the stadium. They also use this technique, as a unique hydraulic system to heat the pitch. Hein explains: “we’re trying to use less so we’re working together with our engineers to be more effective and use more modern equipment and we also use a monitoring system.”

The upcoming plan is to put up their own wind mill next to the ArenA. “It’s very hard but we fight the existing energy regulations and rules because we want to make a difference.” The wind mill is intended to resemble the London Eye, instead of your typical mill.

“We don’t speak about the windmill; we speak about the Big Eye of Amsterdam,” comments Henk.

As it stands, Amsterdam ArenA is creating a legacy for the city of Amsterdam. Their practices have been noticed by other stadiums worldwide and the Arena is considered exemplary for sustainability within the world of football.

NRG Magazine 35

Q&A with Dr.Finance

Dr. Finance Our financing expert, Gerard van Baar, answers your questions about the money side of business. If you have any questions for the next edition of the magazine, shoot us an e-mail at editor@tta-world.com.

“How can we let people participate or enjoy the benefits of solar without needing a 15-20 year investment?”

-Matthijs Olieman and Sven Pluut from WeShareSolar-

The return for solar depends on the cost of the installation and the amount of power generated. This determines the price per kWh and should be compared to the market price. If the market price rises, so does the return. The question is – will it happen? Prices for new panels will certainly decrease and/ or become more efficient in the coming 5-15 years. From that perspective, return for new panels will definitely increase compared to old panels. This is part of the technical risk: not only is there a possibility that the installation may give out, but also may be surpassed by new technology. Ironically, new technology will also enable you to shorten the term of investment.

The option to split the investment term into 5 year periods with roll over will not help make the investment more attractive.

Every renewal period, investors would love to step out to move to more efficient and/or lower priced projects. The only way to prevent this is to ensure you have depreciated your investment considerably so that your investment is in your books at market price. That means you will have to extend your first period payments in order to keep your investors for the second period and so on. If investors can’t step out, introducing a roll over will only increase their risks. This means you will introduce an interest rate risk.

“Introduce an interest rate risk.”

The solution may be simple: stop continuously comparing the market price and agree to pay relatively more to shorten the term of the investment. In the end, you will have a "free" solar installation that will continue to generate power. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the future, panels would have a longer life span.

Then we will have more and more ‘free’ generation which will create another reason to create more efficient technology.

36 NRG Magazine

“How can we create a financial

model for the B2C market in where every consumer can switch to solar without investing 5000 to 7000 EUR? What is needed for a relatively young organization to offer this option?”

-Patrick van der Meulen, Enie.nl-

An "old fashioned" solution is to let a company invest in solar and then supply it to customers. But this won’t work now, since solar is relatively expensive. It only works if done by consumers themselves: it then suddenly becomes attractivelypriced because they save on the energy tax.

“Generally speaking, risks involving governmental action are seen as extremely high, especially regarding energy.”

A way to work around this is to introduce leasing. Some companies have already come up with this model. The company arranges everything from buying to installing panels. Part of the deal is a loan that needs to be paid with interest and installments.

For those who own their house, it could be cheaper to check whether their bank could raise their mortgage.

However, it is important to note that the business case right now is based on the energy tax advantage and the risk is that this may change in the future. Generally speaking, risks involving governmental action are seen as extremely high, especially regarding energy. Lease constructions should take this into account. See the answer to the next question on balancing the grid and offsetting.

Q&A with Dr.Finance

“In politics, there is talk about limiting the amount of offset solar energy to the grid. When do you expect that this could happen and how will it impact solar panel owners and parties providing solar financing solutions through leasing?”

-Roderick van Wisselingh, Solease-

Right now in the Netherlands, you can offset the electricity production of your solar panel with your own consumption, regardless of the difference in timing. “When” is uncertain, but offsetting will end for different reasons. First there is the national budget affair: the more people offset, the less energy tax they pay. So, the Minister in charge (Economic Affairs) will step in and stop this to prevent his budget melting down completely.

Effectively, this means solar will be the victim of its own success.

There are also more sustainable reasons. Offsetting, as is currently arranged, is indifferent to the hour of production and hour of consumption. In real life, electricity is priced on the wholesale markets with different prices for every hour.

Generally speaking, it is far more expensive during the periods when everybody cooks and very cheap when everybody sleeps.

“Offsetting, as is currently arranged, is indifferent of the hour of production and hour of consumption.”

Right now, consumers pay a flat rate and don’t see this. Because of the rise in renewable energy, in the future you want people to use energy when the wind is blowing or when it’s very sunny.

You also want to give them incentives to use during the cheap hours and conserve during the expensive ones. If they do that, it will be easier to deal with spikes in production. Hourly tariffs for consumers will be introduced in the future. This makes offsetting impractical, as it stands. If we stop offsetting, this will affect panel owners. This must be communicated very clearly to consumers - that it may end and may change. On the other hand, it may be an extra stimulus to buy now so they enjoy offsetting as long as it’s here.

Leasing companies need to finance their operations and leases.

The companies financing the leasing companies already take these potential changes into account. They know the business case is built on the assumptions that tax and regulatory aspects continue as they are now, but that there is also a big risk that they won’t. However, if we stop offsetting in the future, this also opens up opportunities. The new focus will be on storing generated electricity.

Gerard van Baar

Gerard van Baar is an independent consultant, after gaining expertise in various positions in energy and finance.

Amongst others, Mr. Van Baar was Managing Director Finance & Sustainability of the Holland Financial Centre. In this position, he was involved in the plans for and discussions on the Green Investment Corporation. Mr. Van Baar also raised Deloitte’s European Energy & Commodity Risk Management practice.

Contact: gerard@vanbaar.org

NRG Magazine 37

Back to the Future | Matthew Lynch

Great minds think alike, though their journeys often seek different roads. Matthew Lynch, Director of the Urban Infrastructure Initiative at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) takes us through his professional voyage and shares significant insight on how newcomers to the energy industry can also achieve greatness.

O

riginally from the land down under, Matthew Lynch began as a student of environmental engineering and held his first job at Caltex Australia, the leading petroleum refiner in Australia. Prior to holding his position at WBCSD, he gained experience in the mining industry and worked in Indonesia and Australia for five years handling environmental management for several mineral processing plants. “This is a great way to learn about the role of business in environmental sustainability, including the importance of building strong stakeholder relationships,” Matthew shares.

To expand his horizons, Matthew also spent some time volunteering in Afghanistan, where he was introduced to the aid and development field. He worked in Afghanistan for a year, providing managerial advice to a local NGO implementing community development and infrastructure projects. He then followed up with his volunteer experience working with the intergovernmental South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme. Here, he worked on regional cooperation issues dealing with biodiversity and wetlands management. Through his previous experience he was able to look at these developmental issues from a practitioner’s perspective and identify pragmatic opportunities for countries in the region to work together.

London was his next move, where he worked with an NGO think tank – Engineers Against Poverty (EAP). EAP focuses on promoting a strategic response from the engineering industry to global issues of poverty and sustainability. “It was about working with the industry and its key stakeholders to maximize positive outcomes for society from engineering and infrastructure development,” he says. He led the program working with the extractive industries to expand the local economic and development benefits of large oil, gas and mining projects.

“We also developed a new software-based appraisal tool for developing countries infrastructure programs with the leading consultancy Arup,” Matthew continues. The software is called ASPIRE and examines the social, environmental, economic 38 NRG Magazine

to the

Future

With Matthew Lynch and institutional dimensions of sustainability. Ultimately, it helps stakeholders design and implement more sustainable infrastructure initiatives.

For the past four years, Matthew has been working with the WBCSD. Promoting more sustainable models of human development have been the focus of his career during this period. Ultimately, the goal is to play a catalytic role in driving global sustainable transformation. “We face a number of complex, interconnected challenges many of them linked our narrowly defined systems and measures of economic progress,” shares Matthew. “Changing these systems is incredibly difficult but we need new models which represent a more holistic view of what progress looks like.”Although the system is complex and the change needed to drive our sustainable transformation is difficult, Matthew remains an optimist. “We can also take real action as individuals and citizens through the choices that we make about what we do, how we consume and how we live our lives,” he says.

Managing a major international ground breaking initiative like the Urban Infrastructure Initiative (UII) at WBCSD has been a significant accomplishment for Matthew. The Initiative established a new way for businesses and cities to work together for sustainable development, partnering with ten different cities around the world including Philadelphia in the USA and Tilburg in the Netherlands. “The UII has established a really exciting model to spur more sustainable cities around the world,” adds Matthew. In each city, the UII mobilized a multi-disciplinary team of company experts to work collaboratively with senior city officials. These teams took an integrated, cross-sector approach to analyzing the city’s major sustainability challenges and to developing an innovative ‘solutions landscape’ to address these challenges. In the end, each city received a ‘transformation report’ which offered new solutions for the city to make their urban infrastructure more sustainable.1

Back to the Future | Matthew Lynch

Successful sustainability programs need to have a clearly-defined understanding of the change that is required and how this change will be achieved.

Another project Matthew has worked on is the Access to Energy Initiative. WBCSD has brought together 20 leading businesses from around the world to highlight key innovations in the ways in which the private sector can play a role in expanding access to energy for the 1.3 billion who don’t have access to electricity and 3 billion people without clean cooking facilities. “We used the initiative to create an evidence-based advocacy platform and establish a coherent set of messages and recommendations to scale up the role of business as a key solutions provider to the critical challenge of energy poverty. On a global stage, I represented the WBCSD’s President Peter Bakker in the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All Partnership to further drive this outreach,” comments Matthew.

TIPS FOR TALENT 1

2

Combine technical expertise with communication practices

Matthew says: “The sustainability field always needs people with high-quality, specialized expertise. However, it is important to be able to also combine these technical capabilities with the ability communicate and reach out to other stakeholders to influence and drive change.

It’s critical for sustainability and energy professionals to build their set of skills around communication, advocacy, outreach and stakeholder engagement.”

Integrate thinking and be able to use tools to manage complexity

Matthew says: "One advantage for the new generation of professionals is that they have grown up their entire lives with computers. Using the power of IT to manage complex tasks and systems is second nature and this will be a very important tool for developing effective integrated solutions to interconnected sustainability challenges. Another advantage of new entrants is that they have not been indoctrinated with a particular way of doing things. They say: 'why are things done this way?

I can do it better.' They are disruptive and the potential of new ideas is powerful - you see that across the technology world and it would be great to see more of this in the energy and sustainability world.”

NRG Magazine 39

Talents in the Spotlight | TTA World

Talents in the Spotlight Avigyan

Karan

H

aving completed a Bachelor’s program at the Indian Institute of Technology in Karagpur, Avigyan currently lives in the Netherlands and pursues his Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from TU Delft. His first contact with the energy sector was in 2008, when he received an internship at the second biggest petrochemical company in India. Avigyan dreams to one day invent a new energy technology with an effective business model, giving thousands of people cheap access to clean energy.

He explains his passion for engineering: “Energy and basic resources have to be made available to millions of people and processes need to be more efficient. There is a lot that chemical engineers can do for this planet.” This multi-talent is writing his master thesis on applying process intensification techniques to control crystal size distribution of pharmaceuticals. He is also working on his startup, looking for the next groundbreaking antifouling solution for the food industry. “I am building a team to solve challenges in modeling, sensing and automated fouling removal,” he explains.

“My key drives are my desire for perfection and my hunger for new challenges’’

MULTITALENT Avigyan is a multi-talent - a unique personality, harboring extremely high potential! This is due to the fact that, unlike the majority of other people, he combines all four existing talents – while innovative and profit-driven, he also has a well-structured mind and is good at making social connections.

42 NRG Magazine

While scaling up his startup remains the short-term career goal for Avigyan, he is looking to the future for a longer-term goal. “I would like to make a significant contribution to the field of energy. If I am able to make electricity from sustainable sources cheap and accessible to everyone in my state in India, I would consider that a worthy achievement.”

In his opinion, pricing and global cooperation are the biggest challenges that the energy industry is currently facing, which jeopardizes the possibility to fully realize the potential of renewable sources.

Still, he remains optimistic about the prospects of the sector and believes that our mindset is what drives positive change: “People can be made aware of the significance of the choices they make and of the lifecycle emissions of the products they buy, etc.”

Avigyan made the most of the NRG Battle, meeting and engaging with new people from different sectors. One of the event’s greatest advantages is that the people you meet might all later become professional connections: “The experience was quite amazing, especially winning the Talent of the Year award. It was a pleasure working on two different challenges, reaching the finals and making nice friends on the way.” Indeed, Avigyan reached the finals as part of two different teams and thus was presenting solutions to completely different challenges – for Friesland Campina and for E.On. In both teams, he was the“idea generator” and also challenged the feasibility of proposed solutions and helped improve them.

Talents in the Spotlight | TTA World

TTA World identifies high-potential individuals by testing their talents and finding their key assets. NRG Magazine has selected a couple of talented participants from the NRG Battle 2013 to highlight their talents, personalities and skills: Avigyan Karan and Roxanne Dirks

R

oxanne graduated with a degree in International Business and Management. She soon started working at a Dutch logistics company as a recruitment coordinator, where her professional qualities were quickly noticed by the Branch Manager, who invited her to switch to his team after only two months. Roxanne sees her life as rich with prospects and is optimistic about what the future might bring: ‘’My career has just started, so I cannot even tell you what I will be doing in 10 years, however, I hope it will be full of opportunities. I would like to move into a leadership function eventually.”

Roxanne

Dirks

Within her Honours program, students enjoyed discussing energy and sustainability, which inspired Roxanne to study the energy sector closer. ‘’Back in my second year of studies I already got an idea of how important this topic was. Looking at the world today, I guess my idea was correct”. Through her own research, Roxanne developed an opinion about modern energy domain and the challenges we yet need to overcome. ‘’To me, the energy sector consists of three different factors: inventing truly sustainable sources, lowering the costs and encouraging the population to be part of these developments’’, she explains.

“I try to take every opportunity that comes my way”

The NRG Battle was perfect for facing at least one of those challenges – to change people's minds. Roxanne’s team had to research people’s motivation in deciding to be more energyconscious: ‘’I simply cannot agree with the mindset of many people that believe the world will continue as it is.’’ Roxanne practices what she preaches, constantly trying to influence the environmental decisions of family and colleagues alike. She adds: "I don’t want to annoy people about it, I just want them to understand and adjust their behavior voluntarily."

In Roxanne’s opinion, her best contribution to the team during the NRG Battle was acting as a mediator, helping them overcome disputes on the way to a great solution: ‘’I did not have as much technical knowledge as others in my team, so I intended to offer value with my creative mind and my understanding of human nature.’’

Roxanne delivered a powerful presentation which captivated the audience and made a complex case understandable. She believes humanity will eventually be persuaded into being more energy-conscious: ‘’You need to motivate people instead of threatening them. Simple, but brilliant, right?’’

For more information on how TTA World tests talents and what they can do for your company, please contact Geertje Dam at editor@tta-world.com.

ENTREPRENEUR Roxanne is an entrepreneur, a combination of the innovator and the go-getter talents. Such personalities have a natural skill to quickly act on challenges, succeeding best at short-term goals. Entrepreneurial talents look towards the future. They collaborate easily with outside parties and eagerly implement new ideas.

NRG Magazine 43

Crossing Borders Together | Energy Academy Europe

Gasunie

Crossing Borders in Energy Gasunie is working towards a more sustainable and integrated energy system. The gas infrastructure company recently launched Gasunie New Energy to strengthen those efforts.

H

ans Coenen, director of Strategy at Gasunie, says the number one priority in the energy transition should be energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption: “This goes for all energy use. As a pro-actor in the energy transition, we commit ourselves to make our own gas transport operations more sustainable, minimize the impact of our company’s activities on the environment and reduce our carbon footprint. The same goes for households and industries: energy efficiency is paramount.”

The interesting feature of gas and its infrastructure is the systemic role it plays in conjunction with other energy forms. For instance, together with the city of Groningen Gasunie is exploring possibilities for geothermal energy used to heat homes. This sustainable form of energy can be combined with gas, to meet demands at peak hours and serve as back-up capacity. Another example showing the role of gas infrastructure in a clean energy system is the Power-to-Gas (P2G) project in Delfzijl, in which Gasunie is also involved. In April, a letter of intent was signed to build the world’s largest and first fully integrated P2G installation, which will use surplus electricity from wind farms to produce hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis. The hydrogen gas will be used as input for the chemical industry, but it can also be used for hydrogen fuel cells or to produce syngas via methanization. Surplus electricity can thus be stored in large quantities of gaseous form. The oxygen is also put to good use in a gasification installation to turn biomass into syngas.

“Energy efficiency is paramount.”

The next move, he says, is to work with other parties to take steps towards a sustainable energy system, in which gas has to play its own specific role. Gasunie New Energy, established in April, will be the main vehicle to develop this role further: “When we launched Gasunie New Energy, there was an overwhelming interest from other parties to work with us in projects linking renewable sources of energy with gas infrastructure. Many of those projects include green gas. We have the infrastructure to accommodate feeding green gas into the grid and there is great potential here, but it needs to be developed much more. Biogas (and in its upgraded form, green gas) is mainly produced through anaerobic digestion in small-scale operations. This is important for the current start-up phase of the green gas market. We believe, however, that we will have to move towards large-scale gasification of biomass to achieve a substantial growth of the share of green gas. We are working with other parties to see if we can make that happen.”

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“Our contribution to this project mainly deals with infrastructure," Coenen says, "but what really matters to us is that P2G technology really takes off in the Netherlands. We believe that in the long term, P2G will provide a solution to bridge the gap between demand and intermittent supply of renewable energy. The syngas from the P2G project can also be converted into green gas which can be made into bio-LNG for cleaner and more sustainable transport and shipping.”

Photo courtesy of EAE

Crossing Borders Together | Energy Academy Europe

Hans Coenen

Director of Strategy at Gasunie Power-to-Gas is a very innovative technology and a good example of the kind of innovation needed for the energy transition to harmonize supply and demand as a result of the increasing share of renewable energy. New technologies also create demand for personnel with appropriate skills and training. According to Coenen, “as a gas infrastructure company, Gasunie needs to adapt to a new future. What Gasunie New Energy will be doing requires a different way of thinking and working. We need to think about the energy system as a whole and for that, we need people with the right qualifications.”

Hans Coenen joined the Dutch Gasunie in a financial role since 1990.

Prior to this, he studied Engineering at the University of Wageningen and Financial Economics at the Tias Business School in Tilburg.

Gasunie recently signed an agreement with the Energy Academy Europe for strategic cooperation in education, research and innovation. “There already is a lot of cooperation with the Energy Academy at the site of EnTranCe, together with the Hanze University of Applied Sciences and the University of Groningen, but we think we need much more research and study into the area of system integration, for example,” Coenen explains, “We will see much more interaction between different sources of energy in the future, so we have to look at this at a much more integrated level. It’s a phenomenon that is high on the Energy Academy’s agenda, not only for research and innovation purposes but also for education.

We need qualified people at all different levels, skilled engineers and so on. We also need people who are able to look at the implications of the integration of green gas and hydrogen into the energy system. We need PhD students to look very closely at system integration, but we support all kinds of education, including the Energy Delta Institute, which is much more about the business side of things. Our slogan is ‘crossing borders in energy’ and that can be interpreted in multiple ways. You can interpret it quite literally as crossing the borders of different countries or as crossing the borders of different energy systems, but it also implies bringing together education, government and business. We firmly believe in cooperation of different parties to move towards a sustainable, reliable and affordable energy future.”

“We firmly believe in cooperation of different parties to move towards a sustainable, reliable and affordable energy future.”

NRG Magazine 45

Crossing Borders Together | Energy Academy Europe

Driving the Energy Transition in the Northern Netherlands The Energy Valley Foundation is one of the driving forces behind the transformation of the energy industry in the Northern Netherlands. Energy Valley brings together governments, businesses and knowledge institutes to boost the energy economy in the region.

G

eneral director Gerrit van Werven is proud of Energy Valley’s achievements since its inception ten years ago: “Back then, we recognized that there are huge opportunities for energy in the Northern Netherlands for the further development of gas and in the transition towards a more sustainable energy future. We’ve built a cluster of businesses, governments and knowledge institutes to move this forward. That has led to enormous investments and a substantial growth of employment.” These dynamics did not go unnoticed for the national government - Energy Valley has been assigned an explicit role in the implementation of energy policy, at different levels.

It has also not gone unnoticed in Brussels. Brussels has named the Energy Valley region as a region of excellence. Van Werven: “that means we’re a region with its organization in order, capable of international cooperation, with broad support from national and regional governments and a vision of what we should invest in.”

solid knowledge and research base. One of the Energy Valley’s success story’s deals with offshore wind. Van Werven: “We’ve been involved in the Gemini offshore wind park right from the start, helping to create facilities like the new Beatrix port, and will include an international test centre for wind turbines. Offshore wind will create a lot of jobs in the region. A special education program has been created to train specialized offshore wind engineers.”

This vision is reflected in the focal areas in which Energy Valley has initiated numerous projects. Smart Grids and Green Gas are two of those areas. Research and Education is another one; Energy Valley has been instrumental in establishing the Energy Academy Europe and Energy College, to ensure the energy transition is supported by a skilled work force and a

the share of renewables in energy production. “How we implement the Agenda varies per theme, but in general, we ensure there’s interest from investors, organize meetings, support businesses, ensure finance and so on. Our role is to initiate and facilitate,” says Van Werven.

“The But there is more to offshore energy than just wind.

Valley is working on the ENSEA project, an Eemshaven Energy international energy partnership around the North sea port is Sea, involving the Netherlands, the Scandinavian Britain and Germany. It has also launched becoming countries, Energizing Deltas, a project combining the traditional a hub for Dutch expertise of building dikes with various forms of renewable energy production, like tidal offshore power. Energy Valley has been assigned the task to roll out the Northern Energy Agenda ‘SWITCH’, an wind.” ambitious program which will drastically increase

46 NRG Magazine

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