ANNUAL THEME ANNOUNCED FOR 2026:
FINDING OUR BALANCE

Lots of news from ERC at last week’s breakfast session for invited members, hosted by TNO. The theme for 2026 was announced: ‘Finding Our Balance’, as were ERC’s main events and several side and site visits for 2026. Also, a new ERC partner was revealed: Arcadis.

2026 theme: Finding Our Balance
From bold ideas and high ambitions to projects now under development or already in operation; meaningful steps are being taken in the energy transition, giving us plenty to be enthusiastic about. Yet progress is also slowing. Viable business cases remain scarce, due to insufficient demand in the market. Also, new investments are hindered by infrastructure that is not yet available and shifting (geo)political dynamics are pulling focus in new directions. In this ever-changing landscape, finding and maintaining a new balance is essential. This has led the ERC steering board to introduce ‘Finding Our Balance’ as the theme for 2026.

Also announced: main and site/side events for 2026
‘Finding Our Balance’ will lead ERC’s events, conversations and collaborations throughout the year. Two main events were announced that will zoom into subtopics, also discussed in the panel discussion during the breakfast session:
 

• 16 APRIL: FROM FICTION TO FLOW

• 19 NOVEMBER: GOING FURTHER TOGETHER

Apart from these main events, several site and side events will take place during 2026:

• 25 MARCH: PHYNIX (EEMSHAVEN)

• 18 JUNE: TATA STEEL

• MID-OCTOBER: VOLTACHEM

Keynote Karlo van Dam
Back to the breakfast session: after the opening by moderators Marlijn de Jonge en Silke van Klaveren (EBN) and Henk Jan Vink from host TNO, Karlo van Dam (Director Sustainable Industry at Dutch Ministry of Climate Affairs and Green Growth) delivered a keynote speech, called ‘Decarbonising industry requires both climate policy and industrial policy’.

Although this title seems to make a lot of sense, Karlo started his presentation stating that reality catches up to us here. He then went on to discuss the challenging times we live in: how our geopolitical landscape rapidly changes - causing a new reality for industry as well -, how industry in Europe is not competitive (and partially leaving), and how exporting industrial production will slow down sustainability.

But, after what Karlo himself called the ‘gloomy’ part of this presentation, there was also some good news: we know what to do. He showed how the EU Clean Industrial Deal can be the response for European industry to the growing competitive pressure and climate challenges.

Karlo ended his keynote with a clear plea for action for industry to show courage and be transparent:

• Spread the word: make the general public more aware of the importance of the (base) industry
• Be as transparent as possible when showing the business cases for potential investments, especially on the gap in the business case
• Be realistic on green investments
• Think of ways to establish a cluster-wide ‘tailor-made’ approach

Karlo’s presentation clearly resonated among those present, and after his presentation a lively discussion took place.



Panel discussions
We then went on to the first panel discussion: From Fiction To Flow. This panel, consisting of Frans Everts (Shell Netherlands), Henk Jan Vink (TNO), Nina Braakman (Alliander) and Adelin Oles (The Hague Energized), discussed how friction influences both energy transition projects and their daily work.

The second panel included Renske Ytsma (Siemens Energy Benelux), Thijs van de Vooren (EBN), Vera Terlouw (AllSeas and Maritime & Offshore NL) and Boris Zwaan (Klimaat en Energie Koepel and Shell). They talked about different aspects and take aways on how partnerships and collaborations can take energy projects further.
The session ended with several announcements from the ERC steering board. First, it was announced that Jan Prins, one of ERC’s founding fathers, will leave the board. Leo Freriks will take his place.

New ERC partner: Arcadis
And for more exciting news: during the breakfast session Arcadis was announced as ERC’s new partner! On stage to announce this were Pieter Dols and Cécile Cluitmans from Arcadis, highlighting what Arcadis will bring to the ERC community and how becoming an ERC partner perfectly aligns with Arcadis’ vision for creating a planet-positive future.




The presentation of Karlo van Dam as well as the photos taken can be found at our website www.energyreinventedcommunity.com.
To access the presentation and the photo’s:

• Login to your personal account
• Go to FORUM
• Select EVENTS and select "2026-01 FINDING OUR BALANCE”.

We look forward to connecting with you again on 16 April or at the Phynix site event in March!