Necessity is the mother of all invention. In 2006 a group of greenhouse horticulture companies needed gas and electricity infrastructure. Because the DSO at the time was not overly keen to make that happen, they founded a private energy company. In the years that followed, the scope expanded to energy and water. During the upcoming event DEVELOPING VALUE CHAINS on 13 March, we will unpack how an integrated energy system was built and discuss how the case can serve as an example for other regions.

Robert Kielstra, CEO of ECW Energy will introduce the session. ECW Energy is the private utility company for the business park Agriport in the province of North Holland. ECW serves data centers and greenhouses with their energy and water needs and assists them with their path towards climate neutrality.

Robert: “ECW has developed geothermal projects, high temperature heat storage, a biomass plant and floating solar. These projects are sold to third parties and feed into the ECW grids by which the energy is supplied to the end customers. At present ECW is developing a water bank to enhance the sustainability of the water consumption at the business park. Via the ECW web-based trading platform the ECW trading desk is active in trading power -on behalf of her customers- to balance the power grid.”
After his introduction Kielstra will take part in a panel with Ingrid Post, Energy Transition Program Director, North Sea Canal Area, Alexander van Noort, General Manager, Ennatuurlijk Aardwarmte and Katharina Gruenberg, Commercial Manager Integrated Hydrogen Projects, Shell.

Alexander van Noort became General Manager of Ennatuurlijk Aardwarmte in May 2023. Immediately after completing his studies in Technical Earth Sciences in Delft, Van Noort set out to explore the world. While mapping the subsurface for his employer in the energy industry, he also fulfilled his dream of being an adventurer and lived on four continents. There, he witnessed both the beauty of nature and the limitations of our industry.

It was during this time that his goal and focus emerged to fully dedicate himself to the energy transition. Since having children, this focus has increasingly shifted to the local level in the Netherlands. "Since May 2023, I have the best job in this country. As the person ultimately responsible for Ennatuurlijk Geothermal Energy, I work hard to make heating more sustainable. Geothermal energy is sustainable, safe, and reliable, and therefore has everything it takes to become the major source for heating networks."

Ingrid Post took on the role of Energy Transition Program Director, North Sea Canal Area in April 2021, after fifteen years at the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs focusing on energy, environment and sustainability. Her role is to kickstart and accelerate energy transition in the North Sea Canal Area. The area where many challenges and interests coincide, represents almost a quarter of Dutch CO2 emissions. Like further North in the province there are many opportunities in the area to become an innovative energy hub.

Katharina Gruenberg is the fourth panelist in the session. Katharina has nearly twenty years experience in energy of which eight in the renewables space. She has worked across Asia and Europe in Shell Scenarios and strategy. Her previous commercial roles have led to her role of Commercial Manager for Integrated Hydrogen Projects at Shell in which she is responsible for initiation and commercial delivery of Holland Hydrogen 1, the largest green hydrogen production asset under construction in Europe.