‘BRINGING INNOVATIONS TO MARKET EFFECTIVELY’

THOSE THEMES ARE INTERTWINED WITH THE WORLD OF GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS JUST ABOUT EVERYWHERE. WHERE ARE THE PAIN POINTS?

Jantienne van der Meij-Kranendonk was the Attaché for Innovation, Technology and Science (IA) for the Dutch Embassy in Washington from 2011 to 2016. Before and after that, she held numerous positions in engineering, sustainability and innovation. She has been working for WaterCampus Leeuwarden since 2018, and became Director of TKI Water Technology in 2020. In her work, she is in frequent contact with governments.

WHAT DOES A GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MANAGER DO, EXACTLY?

I recognize the themes René mentioned on the previous page, of course. I also work on that daily. However, from my various roles, my focus is more on government and less on politics, as in René’s case. I also do that specifically for WaterCampus Leeuwarden, which the Water Alliance also participates in. I have frequent and intensive contact with regional authorities in the projects I am involved in. I advance the water transition with administrators and, in particular, government officials through various projects.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE WITH YOUR WORK?

WaterCampus Leeuwarden’s goals align with those of TKI, of which I am the director. TKI stands for Top consortia for Knowledge and Innovation. The Dutch government set up these consortia to stimulate innovation in nine sectors. TKI Water Technology is one of three TKIs in the Water & Maritime Top Sector. Its goal is to stimulate knowledge development and innovation in water technology to help develop efficient solutions. We aim to ensure that business innovations get to market effectively and without detours to help us move toward the muchneeded circular economy faster.

WHAT ARE CURRENT TOPICS YOU ARE WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?

We are working on four themes. One: ensuring clean and safe water; two: recycling water and raw materials; three: generating and storing energy; and four: circularity. Those themes cover many topics. For example, consider the problem of drug residues and PFAS in water. It also involves making the infrastructure more robust, ensuring you can deliver even during drought and preventing large amounts from leaking. Consider energy generation through the differences between fresh and salt water, as REDstack is doing, or the application of aquathermal techniques, research into hydrogen, and the extraction and reuse of substances such as phosphate from water.

Wherever ambitions meet regulations. Suppose you are an industrial company and want to reuse residues in your processes, perhaps as raw materials for new products. You may run into the fact that regulations complicate matters because the government still labels that substance as waste, which means you are obliged to dispose of it. We see this in many places, such as phosphate or struvite recovery. We often see it in the food industry as well. For example, a company that wants to be circular may already purify all residual water for showers, toilets, or cleaning. A company may also see an opportunity to reuse residual water for the primary process. This saves water and, in turn, costs. Even though this is good and safe from a technical perspective, in terms of regulations, it cannot be done because the rules currently only allow the use of tap water. Aligning those processes with regulations or having regulations adjusted when it is safe and has numerous benefits are topics that require extensive coordination between government and industry. I help with that.