We are thinking too much in blueprints when developing value chains. To make changes to existing value chains, or to create new value chains, we need to be more adaptive. The fact that our current energy and materials production systems are so difficult to change, is that our current systems are the results of decades of optimisation and as a result very efficient. Changing that, takes time. During our Energy Reinvented Community event DEVELOPING VALUE CHAINS hosted by EBN and TNO at De Loods in Rijswijk on 13 March, we heard from companies that don’t wait for the grand design to be in place but argue we should be more pragmatic. They start, with clear ambitions to scale up.
 

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Below is a summary of the plenary programme. Reports from the Focus Group sessions will follow in the next ERC newsletter.

All presentations as well as a summary video are available on the ERC website.
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Go to FORUM, select EVENTS and select 2025-03 DEVELOPING VALUE CHAINS
 

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Opening: The Challenge of Energy Transitions

Around 130 ERC members gathered at De Loods in Rijswijk. A factory from 1964 turned into sustainable event and co-working location, De Loods provided a tangible analogy for an adaptive approach to building and integrating completely new value chains.

After the official opening by Henk Jan Vink, Managing Director Energy and Materials Transition at TNO and Douwe van Leverink, Director Development at EBN, keynote speaker Prof. Laurens de Vries, Professor Complex Energy Transitions at TU Delft, set the tone for the day by highlighting a fundamental difference between past and present energy transitions. “A major difference compared to previous energy transitions is the value for the individual end user. The transition from coal to natural gas provided a clear added value for the end user. With the transition from natural gas to hydrogen or from petrol to electricity, the benefits for society are clear, but for the individual, they are less distinct.” This insight, along with a recommendation to policy makers to offer more room for adaptive policy making, framed the discussions that followed, emphasising the need to act rather than conceptualising too long.
 

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Integrated Energy Systems – Learning from the Case of ECW Energy

The first value chain that was discussed was an integrated one, combining heat and electricity production and storage which offers flexibility to users and producers. The session was introduced by Robert Kielstra, CEO of ECW Energy. ECW Energy started out as a private utility company founded by a group of greenhouse horticulture businesses needing gas and electricity infrastructure. Over time, ECW Energy expanded its production and services. “What we do, is now called an energy hub,” said Kielstra.



Speaking in the same session was Alexander van Noort, General Manager of Ennatuurlijk Aardwarmte, which bought ECW Energy’s geothermal activities in 2023. Ennatuurlijk Aardwarmte recently completed drilling a new geothermal well and is ambitious about expanding their production. “However, a source is nothing, without a network,” said Van Noort. “What’s more, if we don’t optimise the market, the services industry will not have the opportunity to mature, and we will not be able to scale sustainable heat.”

The discussion that followed, together with Ingrid Post, Energy Transition Program Director, North Sea Canal Area and Katharina Gruenberg, Commercial Manager Integrated Hydrogen Projects, Shell, explored how integrating partners and suppliers' needs is key for developing a project, for example of Shell’s Holland Hydrogen I project.
 

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The Hydrogen Value Chain – Policy foresight and demand are key

The second value chain on the agenda was hydrogen. Alexander Jongenburger, Business Development Manager at Equinor, presented Equinor’s plans to develop a blue hydrogen production plant (H2M) in Eemshaven. Jongenburger started by musting a much-heard myth: “Blue hydrogen is not to protect fossil interests. It is a solution to decarbonise the natural gas we know we will continue to use for some time.” Equinor is actively working with potential clients as well as local and regional governments to realise their H2M project. For Equinor the collaboration with government as well as clear policy is necessary for the project to be successful.

Caroline Kollau, Director of Energy Market and Deputy Director General Climate and Energy, Ministry of Climate and Green Growth took part in the panel that followed. She acknowledged that clear policy is needed, also at EU level. Regulations like RED III contain specific targets about green hydrogen and these are big target for The Netherlands. Kollau’s team is currently looking at how to achieve these targets, how government can help industry and what role blue hydrogen can play.

Other panellists were Hans Brinkhof, Business Development & Project manager Germany, VoltH2 and Wouter Jacobs, Executive Director, Erasmus Commodity Trade Centre (ECTC). VoltH2 develops large-scale green hydrogen plants in Europe, intended for use by local industry and the transport sector. All panellists agreed that demand creation is key for the hydrogen chain to develop, which can start locally and branch out.


 

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Circular Materials – From Waste to Resource

Last on the plenary agenda was the circular plastics chain. Panellists were candid about why progress is slow in achieving a fully circular economy by 2050.

Carlijn Roëll, Program Manager, Circular Plastics NL, introduced the session. According the Roëll legislation will be the most important driver for change. “Making recycling mandatory,” said Röell, “is the only way to increase recycling and build a circular economy.” There are big differences between categories of plastic. Packaging waste is easier to recycle than for example waste from the building & construction or automotive industry. Each requires a different value chain approach.

The conversation with Kim Meulenbroeks, Manager Innovation Netherlands, Renewi, Paul de Hoog, Business Opportunity Manager, Shell and Willem Manders, Innovation Orchestrator, TNO Vector showed there is a lot of willingness in each link in the chain. Renewi is changing from waste collector and incinerator to processor and recycler, underscoring that circularity can be a profitable business model.


 

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Key takeaways & looking ahead

ERC Steering Board members Douwe van Leverink, Director Development at EBN and René Peters, Business Director Energy Infrastructure at TNO closed the event with their takeaways:
 

• Whether for energy or materials, successful value chain development requires understanding of the phase of transitions they are in: if a technology is not yet mature, it’s value chain will take longer to develop.
• We are thinking too much in blueprints. We want to have everything figured out but that can delay or even prevent action. We should be more pragmatic and flexible at the start.
• To make changes to existing value chains, or to create new value chains, we need to be more adaptive.

Looking ahead

In line with the above, there is no blueprint for success. But there are critical success factors to learn from:
 

• Visionary leadership from an individual, group or company that dares to take the first mover risk;
• Collaboration with partners you don’t know well;
• The willingness to start and accept good results. Better is the enemy of good.
• Look for clear benefits for the end users.
• For governments: dare to differentiate. Solutions don’t have to be the same for every municipality or region.

 

Thank you

The ERC Steering Committee thanks Sofie van den Enk and all involved in making the event a success and looks forward to connecting with you soon. A special thanks to Future Energy Leaders Varsha Ram Balapa, Climate Analyst at Nexio Projects, Ivo Wakounig, PhD at Eindhoven University of Technology, Judie El Ghazzawi, Bachelor student Circular Engineering for opening each session with a round of Mentimeter questions. Joining them in the photo is Future Energy Leader Suriya Venupogalan. The Future Energy Leaders are a community of young energy professionals under the World Energy Council flag and a collaboration partner of ERC.

 

We look forward to staying connected with you and to seeing you again at our next event on the 19th of June.