REDSTACK

REDSTACK PASSED THE START-UP PHASE A LONG TIME AGO... Blue Energy ready for the world

They were founded within the walls of Wetsus. In the last fifteen years, they worked passionately on the development of Reverse ElectroDialysis (RED), leading to the creation of the famous finished product, ‘Blue Energy’. Their pilot plant on the Afsluitdijk is impressive, if only due to the scale of it. Today, REDstack, a member of the Water Alliance, has long outgrown the start-up phase. The technology has proven itself, and a step up to a large demo site and the rollout to the world is imminent. For investor Pieter Hack, it means that a return is finally in sight after fifteen years of pioneering. And yet, that is not his main motive. “When I drive along the Afsluitdijk and see our plant, I don’t see the technology or the scale”, says Pieter Hack, the man who took a pioneering gamble and invested in REDstack fifteen years ago. “The feeling that overwhelms me is inspiration. I am grateful that our assumptions have been correct so far, and that RED is already working so well at this pilot scale. I believe that we are ready to quickly scale up to a 0.5 MW [megawatt] demo site and a 50 MW plant as our first commercial installation. After that, the world will be ours.” the Minister of Economic Affairs heralded the company as a ‘National Icon’. Nevertheless, Peter Hack is less interested in REDstack’s role in promoting the Netherlands and more interested in what it can do for the world. “The world desperately needs clean energy. We need to get rid of fossil fuels. Wind and solar energy are on the rise, and other sustainable sources are under development. There is also a beautiful place there for Blue Energy. Our technology offers power companies and governments clean energy which, in addition to emitting zero CO 2 , can be supplied continuously, regardless of weather and without the

Blue Energy Plant at de Afsluitdijk, the Netherlands.

need for storage. It also achieves all that without having a major impact on the landscape. These aspects will become increasingly important in the coming years.” It has been a long and winding road to get this far, but Hack is tenacious, as is his team operating in the office, the workshop in Sneek and on the Afsluitdijk. “Granted, it was difficult at times”, says Hack of the company’s early years. “Especially when a party you had been working with for a long time backed out, or when a particular grant was not awarded. As an entrepreneur, I have learned my entire career that things often take longer than initially planned. I also learned that there is no point worrying about things you have no control over. If, in the face of a setback, you don’t give up but instead put your shoulder to the wheel, you will move forward.” One of REDstack’s strong points is focus, says Hack. “One of our characteristics is our ability to focus. We don’t try to do everything; we do a few things very well. Our primary goal is supplying stacks. Stacks are the reactor vessels with membranes inside, which can be used to efficiently generate electricity in a high-tech way.” The technology can also contribute to solutions for other problems in the world. With the European project REvivED, in which REDstack participated, REDstack was given the freedom to also improve the desalination processes. “We could already make fresh water”, says process technologist Jordi Moreno, a Catalan who moved to Leeuwarden for the opportunities in water technology. “Within the REvivED project and in collaboration with various European parties, we looked at how to make the desalination processes more costefficient. We have made tremendous strides. It’s good; it allows us to help other parties produce fresh water efficiently in areas with water

Pieter Hack, founder of REDstack: ‘One of our characteristics is our ability to focus. We don’t try to do everything; we do a few things very well’

shortages.”

However, the core business remains the stacks, Moreno agrees. They will be sold around the world in the coming years if Hack has anything to do with it. “It’s a unique technology. Nobody has what we have. Not only does it work really well all the time, it is also cost-efficient. Blue Energy is REDstack’s contribution to the energy transition. In twenty years, when there are only electric cars on the roads, I would love to be able to tell my grandchildren: ‘That car is running on grandpa’s electricity.’