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The NRG Magazine is a magazine for talents and companies interested in the energy sector. Every edition has a theme varying from Cradle-to-cradle to Smart Energy Grids & E-mobility and Energy Ports & Logistics. Every edition of the NRG Magazine is launched during the NRG Battle a competition where bright students meet, compete and innovate for a sustainable future. Read more about these interesting magazines in the NRG Magazine
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Edition 6 | 2012 Retailprice € 5,50 Siemens - Alliander - KEMA - Real World Systems - Rational Middle Talents in the Spotlight - Financing Sustainability - NRG Battle Back to the future with Henk Koopmans Green Cities are Smart Cities World fastest bikes 133 km per hour by human power
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Edition 6 | 2012 Retailprice € 5,50

Siemens - Alliander - KEMA - Real World Systems - Rational MiddleTalents in the Spotlight - Financing Sustainability - NRG Battle

Back to the future withHenk Koopmans

Green Cities are Smart Cities

World fastest bikes133 km per hour by human power

E.ON graduate development programme … working on answers around global energy

E.ON (headquartered in Düsseldorf) is among the largest investor-owned energy companies in the world. We have production units in Europe, the Russian Federation and North America. In 2011 our 78,000 personnel generated sales worth just under 112 billion. Our core code is making energy cleaner and better. Graduate development programmeThe 18-month programme is crafted for individual talents and ambitions. It takes you through four speciality areas at group companies (one abroad). We match your personal interests and track-record with E.ON’s dedicated menu. This goes for your whole career path. And whatever part of our business you enter – engineering or commercial – you’ll be working towards global answers in energy within an independent and varied setting.

Are you looking for:

Attention for personal development and career opportunities;Independent and varied work;

Then please visit www.eon.nl/corporate

Dutch ambitionApproximately 900 million vehicles are being

driven around the whole world; what’s more, it

is expected that the number of cars will triple

from 700 million to two billion by 2050. This

will result in much greater CO2 emissions

because the majority of cars will still be running

on fossil fuels then. In order to reduce CO2

emissions, the Dutch government wants its

citizens to make more use of electric transport.

The aim is that, by 2025, one million of all

Dutch cars will be powered by electricity. In

comparison: in 2011, only 55,826 electric cars

were being driven in the Netherlands.

An ambitious target. Is it also realistic? There

are still many obstacles to negotiate in order to

make the electric car a success. At the moment,

electric cars are expensive and have a limited

range meaning that there is the risk of being

stranded on your journey. That’s why many

consumers decide not to buy them. Moreover,

an electric car is not, by definition, climate-

neutral. In order to compare the CO2 production

of electric and non-electric cars, the whole

energy chain must be brought into the

comparison. Nowhere near all electricity is

generated by sustainable energy sources. The

supply of sustainably generated electricity is

still far too small; coal and gas power stations

have to meet the requirement.

As the proportion of renewable energy sources

in the total energy chain is expected to be

smaller than the proportion of fossil energy

sources for many decades still, this situation is

not going to change in a hurry. This doesn’t

mean that the Dutch ambition is nonsense.

Dutch research institutes (TNO, ECN) have

shown that, even if this electricity is generated

partly from fossil sources, the electric car still

always produces 22 percent less CO2 in

comparison with the non-electric car.

Gertjan Lankhorst, CEO GasTerra

Foreword

PublisherTTA Publishers

Postbus 1746

9701 BS Groningen

Kwinkenplein 8-4

9712 GZ Groningen

Tel.: +31 50 317 14 75

Fax.: +31 50 317 14 72

[email protected]

Editor in chiefJan Schulte

EditorMaike Veltman

DesignGiscard van Uytrecht

SalesRob Hogenelst, Director Sales

Marius Nugteren, Sales

Tel: +31 50 317 14 70

[email protected]

PrinterBest Reclamestudio

PhotographyMaike Veltman

Giscard van Uytrecht

ContactAlso interested in a subscription to the NRG Magazine or do you want your company

to be published in the next edition? Do you have interesting topics and ideas for

future publications? Feel free to contact: [email protected] or call Maike

Veltman +31 (0)50 317 14 75

Thank you!

The NRG Magazine Team

Magazine Circulation7.500

Circulation distributionPartners of Energy Valley

Partners of the International NRG Battle

Partners of Kivi Niria

Rijksuniversity of Groningen

Hanze University

TU Delft

TU Eindhoven

TU Twente

Companies in the energy sector

Municipalities in the north of the

Netherlands

Province of Groningen

Editorial and administrationNRG Magazine

Kwinkenplein 8-4

9712 GZ Groningen

T: 050-317 1475

E: [email protected]

www.nrgmagazine.nl

www.twitter.com/thenrgbattle

www.facebook.com/nrgbattle

blog.nrgbattle.com

NRG Magazine is published 4 times a year.

No part of this publication may be copied or

reproduced without written permission of the

publisher. The publisher and authors do not

accept liability for damages of any nature

whatsoever, resulting from actions and / or

decisions based on the information in this

magazine. This issue is produced with the

utmost care.

Colo

fon

If you have the freedom to build without limitations,

amazing things can become real. Imagine a city where

zero carbon is emitted to the environment, a building

that is completely energy neutral or street lighting that

might reduce up to a third of a city’s electricity budget.

To be green is not only hot, it is essential for a sustainable

future. How else is the world going to reach 2050 if it’s

not for breathtaking initiatives like smart Masdar City

near Abu Dhabi?

Such great initiatives have one thing in common: they

run on smart grids. Solar panels, wind mills, electric cars,

to name a few, are smart to the core. These elements

make a green city, which is by definition a smart city

(p. 10). Because of this the IT sector is booming, as you

can read in our datacenter special starting on page 28.

Henk Koopmans is our guru; he was already there when

the first computer system made its appearance (p. 38).

Most of all, we need to be smart ourselves. How will we

design in the future, how will we consume and waste,

and how will we invest in our own future? I believe that

generation Y holds the key. These young global talents

are the guide of the future and are the catalysts to big

chances. They will secure the energy supply in 2050. They

have too.

Over forty global talents are blogging about their lives,

passions and solutions on the NRG Blog ‘The Road to KL’

(p. 56). Together they form an explosion of dreams for

the energy future which will be made more concrete at

the NRG Battle – World Edition in Kuala Lumpur from

June 4 - 8. Visit the NRG Blog at blog.nrgbattle.com. Join

the discussion, think innovative and be smart: help build

our future.

NRG Magazine Editor

Help build our future

Editors note

An impression of Masdar City.

Maike Veltman

Editors Note

About An Innovative Truth IV

Green Cities are Smart Cities

IndexCoverstory

20.

Human Power Team

The world is rushing toward 2050 and numerous initiatives are

coming up for a sustainable future. Governments are realizing

more and more what has to be done and companies are joining

forces to answer the nagging question: how to build a greener

world?

28.

133 km per hour by Human Power

10.

An Innovative Truth IV - Sustainable ICT & Energy

Conference is initiated by GreenICT Foundation

and is made possible by financial contributions of

Smart Energy Collective and Alliander.

The Winner is... Team Grontmij52.

Talents in the Spotlight

Top Models Wanted!

Innovate with the right business model

Rational Middle

Electric driving is the future

22.

26.

Back to the futurewith Henk Koopmans

40.Follow the Road to KL56.

Financing SustainabilityA column by Holland Financial Centre

25.

46

Who will connect them?

Who will connect them?

Coverstory Smart Cities

Green Cities are Smart Cities

Along with other electrically-powered vehicles such as trains and small electric cars, these

buses are the cleanest way to get around the city of London. They consume up to one-third

less diesel fuel than conventional vehicles. Photo by Siemens.

10 | NRG Magazine edition 6

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 11

Coverstory Smart Cities

“If you have the freedom to dream without limitations, you

can build very beautiful things”, says Erik van der Heijden,

head of the newly founded Smart Grid Division of Siemens

in the Netherlands. “More than half of the world population

lives in an urban environment and that number is only

increasing. The role of the city is of very great importance

to reach the sustainable goals in 2050 that the world has

target itself with. You cannot simply turn everything the

other way around. It is a chosen path, which we can bend

and redirect over time to another, more renewable road.”

In 2009, Siemens presented the European Green City Index,

a research project assessing the environmental impact of

Europe’s major cities. A book with surprising results: cities

that shelter Europe’s oldest treasures can become green

cities.

“A good example is London,” tells Van der Heijden. “We,

Siemens started a dialog and joined the discussion. The

mayor of London had the power to actually change

something and was on board.” In Siemens European Green

City Index, London is ranked 11th overall. To quote: ‘One of

London’s key energy ambitions is the London Array, a

planned 1.000Mw offshore wind-turbine project in the

Thames estuary. The project will supply enough power for

750.000 homes and will save 1.9 million tonnes of CO2

emissions each year.’

Smart is the keyVan der Heijden: “Smart grids are one of the biggest

components in the transition to a green city. Wind farms,

electric cars, production of electricity, mobility, solar panels,

all of these cannot exist without a smart network that

connects it all together.” The future looks like a contrast

with what we know now. Large energy power plants will

make way for decentralized ways to produce energy. More

house owners invest in solar panels and become their own

energy supplier. Because of that, the smart network is

becoming more complex and has to get smarter. It seems a

requirement; green cannot be without smart.

Green Cities are Smart Cities

The world is rushing towards 2050 and numerous

initiatives are coming up for a sustainable future.

Governments are realizing more and more what

has to be done and companies are joining forces to

answer the nagging question: how to build a greener

world?

12 | NRG Magazine edition 6

Coverstory Cradle to CradleCoverstory Smart Cities

Grontmij Wuhan New Energy Institute

The Wuhan Energy Institute in China is an example for the world when it comes to energy

neutral building design. Photo by Grontmij.

12 | NRG Magazine edition 6

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 13

“You need smart grids to build a

sustainable city.” Van der Heijden

explains further: “But you cannot

change it the other way around. Smart

grids don’t magically turn a system into

a green one. It depends on the way they

are used. Smart grids are a mean, not a

goal. Techniques and solutions like solar

panels, electric driving, wind farms and

more, are ways to make the world more

sustainable. We have to embed these in

the right way. The market and the

business case has to be solid too.”

A city full of pure airA futuristic view on how a city can

become, can be seen in Masdar City.

About 6 km2, situated 17km from

downtown Abu Dhabi, Masdar City is

one of the most sustainable cities in the

world. Kazi Islam, a 25 year old

Bangladeshi citizen is pursuing his

graduate studies in Masdar Institute. “I

come from a country where the

maximum demand of electricity is

roughly 6000Mw and we can hardly

generate around 4500Mw by all means,

mostly from natural gas. Renewables

are still not at the top of the list. Here in

United Arabic Emirates (UAE),

generation of tens of Gigawatts of

electricity with natural resources is not

an issue. Among many other initiatives

taken by the UAE government, I feel

proud to say that the Masdar initiative is

one of the unique ones in the whole

world in terms of renewable energy

resources.

Imagine a city full of pure air and

emitting zero carbon to the environ-

ment. It may sound a little impractical to

you but as a matter of fact, we are on

the right way to achieve that here in

Masdar City. Today I sit here in Masdar

City and look into the world with hope

and efforts for a better, purer and

greener tomorrow. And I believe that, if

we can do it for one city, why not for the

whole world?”

Erik van der Heijden: “Masdar City is an

inspirational example. Whenever you

think of creating a city of the future,

this is close to reality. Techniques,

innovative ideas and reality are coming

together in a green and sustainable city.

And, yes, a smart city.”

Wuhan Energy Institute“The Wuhan New Energy Institute in

China has shown that it is possible to

build in an energy neutral way. This is

the most sustainable office building in

the world”, says Victor Pastoor, project

manager for engineering consultancy

Grontmij. In 2010 they proposed their

idea for the most renewable building

and example for the world to the

municipality Wuhan in China. Grontmij

and Soeters van Eldonk won the contest

and started with the greenest building

on the planet.

Pastoor: “The building shows how we

should deal with energy in the coming

decades.

Masdar CityMasdar means the source in Arabic and is aspiring to be one of the most sustainable

cities in the world. The city is located 17km near Abu Dhabi and integrates the full

range of renewable energy and sustainability technologies. A 10Mw solar

photovoltaic plant provides Masdar City with energy, the largest such solar plant

in the Middle East. There is 60% reduction in water usage and use 100% treated

waste water. For the inner façade 90% reclyced-content aluminium is used and

green concrete is made of ground granulated blasted slag instead of cement

which results in a reduction of the concrete carbon footprint by 30-40% of CO2.

These are just a few of the green initiatives of Masdar City, that has proved to be

a green smart city.

Erik van der Heijden started

his career as a Management

Trainee at Siemens in 2001.

After his traineeship he

worked for sales and project

developments untill he

moved to Dubai as Regional

Director Sales Power

Generation in 2008. He was

responsible for UAE, Qatar,

Bahrain, Oman and Yemen.

In 2011 he became Division

Manager Smart Grids at

Siemens in the Netherlands.

Victor Pastoor is Head of

department Building

Systems and Technical

Specialists at Grontmij.

Pastoor is specialized in

sustainable installation and

zero-energy concepts. For

Grontmij he won the

contest of the most

sustainable office building

in the world (which resulted

in the Wuhan New Energy

Institute in China).

14 | NRG Magazine edition 6

Singapore is the only one in the Asian Green City Index to rank well above average overall. It

shows consistently strong results across all individual categories, performing especially well

due to policies to maintain and improve the urban environment. Since the city state gained

independence in 1965, the government has emphasized the importance of sustainability.

Coverstory Smart Cities

14 | NRG Magazine edition 6

Photo by Siemens.

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 15

The Chinese community is very

concerned with the environment and

energy reduction methods. They are

aware of the fact that when no action

is taken, the world will be finite.” The

Wuhan Energy Institute (70.000m2) is

designed as an office-tower, new

energy labs and an exhibition center.

“If they are not able to have such a

building for themselves, how will they

design that for the rest of the world?”,

asks Pastoor rhetorically.

Natural forcesThe smart way of building it, is what

makes the New Energy Institute so

special. The natural forces from the

area work for the benefit of the

building. “For example”, says Pastoor,

“the design is compact. The climate of

Wuhan is sometimes called the oven of

China. In summers, the temperature

can go up to 40 degrees Celsius. The

building stands in its own shadow and

that saves a lot of cooling energy. The

outer wall loses little heat in the winter

and the angled roof is ideal for voltage

cells. On the roof integrated wind mills

are installed and rain water is collected.

In short: all energy that is used, is

earned back within the own system.”

To make all this possible, smart grids

play an essential role. Every building

has a fluctuating demand for energy

and thus for the need of heat or air-

conditioning. Via a circle led everything

is connected and communicates. The

architecture was inspired by the natural

shape of the calas lily flower. This

flower symbolizes hope, purity and

greatness in China. Pastoor: “I look at

this building as a hopeful and worhty

example for real estate development

to build energy neutral.”

Smart lightsAnother great example of smart grid

innovations can be found at Tvilight.

Chintan Shah is the creator of the

intelligent street lighting solution

which won the TU Delft Campus Energy

Challenge in 2010 and is nominated for

the prestigious Living Lab Global

Awards 2012. Shah: “I come from India

where people are around during the

night hours. I was amazed to see that

in the Netherlands some parts of town

where completely sleeping at night,

but all the street lights were burning

bright. That is an enormous waste of

energy and a cause for high light

pollution.”

With this in mind Shah designed an

electronic module that fits into existing

street lights and turns them in to smart

lights. The system dims the lights

during off-peak hours, however all the

surrounding lights glow to their full

capacity as soon as any activity is

detected. The lights communicate with

each other and their monitoring

software enables easy operation and

maintenance of entire street lighting

infrastructure.

Green efficiencyShah: “Street lighting costs

municipalities in the Netherlands up to

40% of their electricity budget. It

represents a substantial component of

a city’s energy consumption. Green

cities cannot exist without smart street

lighting. Smart grids are coming, for

sure. We need to move ahead from an

old era where a substantial amount of

energy is wasted, to a new intelligent

era where the energy is used in an

efficient manner. The beauty of

solutions like smart street lights is that

they are dynamic and prevents energy

waste. I believe that products like these

hold the key to the next generation of

green smart cities.”.

“Smart grids don’t magically turn a system into a green one. It depends

on the way they are used”-Erik van der Heijden-

Chintan Shah is the designer of

Tvilight, intelligent street lighting.

With his smart solution he helps

cities to reduce their light waste and

become green.

Energy

Aca

dem

y Eu

rope

Combined with EnTranCe,

the Energy Transition Center

A Hotspot of Applied Sciences

for Businesses and Innovations

www.energyacademy.org

Energy Academy EuropeCenter of Excellence

for Energy Education

Energy Research

Energy Innovation

ENERGY FOR LIFE

Green GasThe Energy Valley region is the center of transport, storage, trade and knowledge of gas in northwestern Europe. This key position is utilized to balance fluctuating energy from sun and wind, and for large scale production and use of green gas from biomass.

Bio EnergyThe regional waste and agribusiness are frontrunners in new technologies for renewable energy from biomass. Not only in the field of biogas and green gas, but also for solid and liquid biofuels like biocoal, biomethanol and bio diesel.

Offshore Wind EnergyThe unique position at the North Sea and on an intersection of the European power grid is used

for the construction and maintenance of offshore wind parks in front of the coast of the Netherlands as well as Germany.

Decentralized Energy SystemsExperience is gained by practical application of decentralized energy from sun, water and heat in cities and industrial parks. This creates new opportunities for the manufacturing industry and installation companies in smart energy systems and infrastructure.

Research & EducationCompanies and knowledge institutes have joined forces in the Energy Academy Europe and Energy College to stimulate market-driven energy research and to educate the new energy professionals of the future.

Energy Valley: European Region on Energy Excellence

ENERGY FOR BUSINESS

Energy Valley is a pioneering energy cluster in the northern part of the Netherlands. Within these cluster companies, knowledge institutes and governments work closely together to generate innovative and sustainable energy solutions. This forms a strong economic engine, with large scale investments and many green jobs. Together with Germany and other countries around the North Sea the regional strongpoints are utilized to further strengthen the unique position as European region on energy excellence.

Green Gras roundabout

Innovation Bio Energy

Wind Energy

Decentralized Energy Systems

Bezoekadres:Laan Corpus den Hoorn 3009728 JT GroningenNederland

Telephone:+31507890010

Websitewww.energyvalley.nl

18 | NRG Magazine edition 6

For employees fast developing network

companies are a challenge

Ir. Pieter Romer Executive Director Operations at Alliander

All iander

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 19

All iander

AllianderThe network company Alliander is

responsible for the energy distribution

grid in large parts of the Netherlands.

Our core business involves connecting

3,3 million customers to our energy

grids in distributing gas and electricity.

Of course we do more than that. We

believe it is important to take the lead

in facilitating renewable energy. That is

why we’re constantly working on

innovations and creating high-quality

technological solutions. This allows us

to contribute to a better society. After

all, where would we be without energy?

The business units Liander, Endinet and

Liandon make up the network company

Alliander with a staff of around 6,000.

Smart grids are necessary to facilitate (sustainable) developments. These networks

are digitalized and can be monitored and controlled remotely. Good telecom-

munication is essential in order to operate the smart grids effectively with the

related data, transport and processing. To achieve smart grids, we are digitalizing

the substations and medium-voltage networks and are installing smart meters.

Telecommunications networkTelecommunication is becoming increasingly important to support our primary

process: the distribution of electricity and gas. The network operator Liander

regards telecommunication as a third network. Through Liander’s closed

telecommunications network, operational information on network maintenance,

interruptions and energy flows is transferred to operational management. The

introduction of intelligent networks is giving rise to a great deal of additional data.

In 2011, a plan was drafted to use fibreglass to open up medium-voltage stations

and substations to the telecommunications network. A four-year programme for

the roll-out of this fibreglass network will start this year. The information systems

must be kept in good order and are constantly improved to ensure proper data

processing.

In 2011, the Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) programme was started to enable

an integrated approach to business processes and IT systems supporting enterprise

assets. In 2011, we worked to improve both the data and data management

processes. Risks were identified and assessed. The results were translated into a five-

year data improvement plan in balance with the earlier mentioned investments.

A third network

World fastest bikes

Human Power Team

20 | NRG Magazine edition 6

133 km per hour by human power

Who needs fuel, electric mobility or other forms of smart grids, when you have human power? That is exactly

what the Human Power Team (HPT) from Delft and Amsterdam must have thought. They combine techniques

and human power to achieve extreme speed. Without adding energy from other sources they can come to a

speed of 133 km per hour.

The project started in 2010 when student David Wielemaker from the TU Delft heard of the World Human Powered Speed

Challenge at Battle Mountain in Nevada, US. The participants vary from engineering students to people with a passion for

recumbent bikes. Paul Denissen is project manager of the HPT and studies mechanical engineering in Delft: “A lot of teams

participate with the aim of building the fastest bike to have the speed experience. We do it for the technical experience of

designing and building a streamlined recumbent: the VeloX.”

It is a combination of the power that the biker can deliver and the design of the bike. With the same amount of power the

bike is able to achieve a much greater speed. For example, when a normal person goes to work with 25 to 30 km per hour,

he can achieve a speed of 60 to 70 km per hour when on the VeloX with the same amount of human power. Denissen: “The

VeloX is designed so the biker has just enough room to move. The recumbent bike is very small which improves the

aerodynamics. It is made of the lightest materials like carbon and, combined with the perfect aerodynamics it can reach its

amazing speeds.”

With these elements the Human Power Team might be able to set a new world record for recumbent biking. “In Germany we

want to set the new hour record. Within the hour we want to reach a constant speed over 90 km per hour. The sprint record

will be raced in Nevada, US. To reach the world record of 133 km per hour, our racer needs to come up with a human output

of over 1000 watt.”

To get such an enormous amount of human power, the design has to be perfect and help the racer as much as possible.

Denissen: “We have deliberately given a lot attention to the aerodynamics of the bike. We can create a shape that is almost

ideal and which has hardly any wind resistance. We like to demonstrate what the possibilities are. How much power do cars

need to transport people? It can be so much more energy efficient if we thought differently about the way we build cars and

other transportation means.”.

World fastest bikes

Human Power Team

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 21

133 km per hour by human power

To reach the world record of 133 km per hour, our racer needs to come up with a human output of over 1000 watt

Top Models Wanted!Innovate with the right business model

EnableMi

Elzo de Lange and Erik Matien, owners of EnableMi B.V.

22 | NRG Magazine edition 6

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 23

“Technical minded developers focus

entirely on making the solution work”,

says Erik Matien. Together with his

companion Elzo de Lange, he started a

business known as EnableMi B.V. that

helps organizations to bring

innovations to the market.

Making a working and better technical

solution is the most imparting part.

You might not be able to stop working

on that aspect but commercial success

differentiates from successful inno-

vation. “A technically good solution is

no guarantee for a successful sale”,

says De Lange. “In fact, the final service

concept is much more defining than

the techniques.”

A service concept doesn’t only give you

an answer to the question of what you

solve, but also how you solve it and

what the benefits are for the user. It is

a way of thinking from the perspective

of the client. Your offer and your work

style have to reflect the thoughts of

the client or buyer. That is the

challenge.

A popular and proven method to have

a successful commercial innovation is

the Business Model Canvas. This is an

open source method where, together

with the stakeholders, you look at

aspects such as client, offer (product

and service), infrastructure and

financial feasibility. At Standford

University, ranked in the top 3 of the

world’s best universities, students can

follow master classes about this subject.

Matien gives an example: “While the

music industry is imploding and sends

out lawyers to teenagers who

download music illegally, companies

like Shazam, Spotify and iTunes are

earning millions with the legal sale of

music. This contrast fascinates us. What

is the difference? That is the business

model.”

Matien and De Lange see similarities

between the music industry and the

developments in the energy sector, to

be more specific the evolution to smart

grids. Large scaled (traditional) energy

production represents the old business

model, while local en renewable

energy production showcases the new

model. Decentralized renewable

energy production and self-sufficiency

clearly are popular, but they can use a

boost. “Regulations interfere with a

large scaled market introduction, but

that is just a matter of time. There are

more factors that should be

considered”, says De Lange.

There is a proliferation of services and

innovations in the area of energy

reduction and decentralized produc-

tion. A lot of businesses focus on the

consumer’s need to economize. Is this

the right approach in every case? In

practice it seems that some target

groups only want comfort and not

primarily focus on energy savings.

When you are aware of that, you need

the technical solutions (which lead to

energy savings) to fit in this customer

minded approach, that means thinking

about comfort and usability and

energy savings will follow automa-

tically. This different approach forces

you to look differently to your business

model. Commercial success starts with

this knowledge and knowhow.

EnableMi works with parties involved

in smart grids to make new business

models and service concepts. Business

Model Canvas plays an essential role.

One of the companies working with

EnableMi produces high quality and

innovative sun boilers for a good prize.

Users can save over 50% on their gas

bill for tap water, but that might not

be enough to seduce the consumers.

That means that you have to change

the approach. Together with EnableMi

they have looked over nine aspects of a

good business model, developed

several modules and started trial

projects. You have to think with the

mind of the user, create value and

reflect on your own business model.

Show that innovation without focus

doesn’t work. Innovation is not only

about technical solutions, but above all

about smart business models..

Top Models Wanted!Innovate with the right business model

EnableMi

“A technically good solution is no

guarantee for a successful sale”

Creative ideas and concepts are everywhere. Only 7% gets to the market successfully. It often

starts with a frustration or discomfort with existing situations and by asking the question: could

it be otherwise? That’s the moment when the creative process starts and you start looking

for solutions. You start working hard and invest money, and, hopefully, start making money.

Sometimes it goes wrong, because you forget to think with the customer’s mind.

24 | NRG Magazine edition 6

Power to Gas for a smoothenergy transitionAn integrated approach of the power and gas infrastructure enables an affordable and realistic transition towards a sustainable and reliable energy system. Conversion of power to gas can offer maximum flexibility to the power system in cases that demand and supply do not match and surpluses to be accommodated. DNV KEMA acknowledges the value of the gas infrastructure to facilitate flexibility and seasonal storage.

Advantages of converting power to gas:■Flexibility in electricity accommodation■Seasonal storage of renewable energy to balance demand and supply■Direct storage in large quantities in Europe’s extended and robust gas infrastructure with a cycle time from days to months■Cost-effective energy transport over long distances■Decarbonization of gas infrastructure

www.dnvkema.com

A4 ad_IGU_Oil & Gas_2.indd 1 18-4-2012 9:03:30

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 25

E-mobilility is not only about smart grids, but also about

smart politicians and smart policy making

In the EU grid operators have been deliberately separated

from distributors. Grid operators are responsible for the

infrastructure. They fulfill a public function defined by law

and have to guarantee everybody for against the lowest

possible price. Distributors use this infrastructure to

deliver their electricity. Consumers can choose their

distributor but not their grid operator.

Smart grids mean new systems with new functionalities

enabling new services that are not foreseen in the

existing regulations. As a result there is a grey area

where it is not sure whether the business

opportunity is for the grid operators or for the

distributors.

For example in the Netherlands there is an initiative

from the grid operators to install charging points

for E-cars. These charging points are not part of

their mandate. As a result a public debate has

evolved whether they should be allowed to do it or

not. For investments made by grid operators within

their mandate, financing should not be a problem:

they are entitled to a fee that guarantees a return on

their investments. If however it is unsure whether or not

investments are within their mandate, it will be both for

grid operators as well as distributors very difficult to

finance these investments. Simply because financiers need

clear regulations and will avoid unclear sections.

Meanwhile new solutions and services related to smart

grids are evolving. The grey area mentioned above is

changing all the time. The solution should be, alert and

fast moving regulators and policy makers who are

heading into the same direction at EU level. A contradictio

in terminis some would say. But the only smart way to

do it..Gerard van Baar - Holland Financial Centre

Managing Director Centre for Finance & Sustainability

Financing SustainabilityA column by Holland Financial Centre

The Holland Financial Centre foundation is a joint public/private venture launched by a number of parties in the financial industry and the government, who have joined together to form a broad-based interest group. The objective of HFC is to develop initiatives aimed at preserving a strong, open, internationally competitive financial industry in the Netherlands, and to retain existing jobs in the industry and create new ones. One of the focal points of HFC is Finance & Sustainability. The Centre for Finance & Sustainability commissioned the book Financing Sustainability which can be downloaded at the website of Holland Financial Centre: www.hollandfinancialcentre.com The Centre also initiated the webportal www.FSinsight.org , which has been officially launched by Minister Verhagen at 1 February 2012.

Financing Sustainabil ity

‘Three years ago, big car companies knew for sure: the

electric car will be the future transportation. Even the

government embraced e-mobility immediately. In 2009

they had the ambition to have 200.000 electric cars on the

Dutch roads by 2020. In the next five years this number

has to increase to a million.

At the beginning of this year the first disappointing

numbers were known. In 2011 the Dutch dealers sold

together 862 e-cars, which is only 0,15 percent of the total

amount of newly sold cars. The main causes are the

limitations of the electric car. The vehicle has a limited

range, there are very few charging points and charging

takes a long time. The electric driver is being confronted

with fear of distance: the anxiety to stand by the side of

the road with an empty battery.

Erik Kelder, electric chemist at TU Delft and leader of the

European project EuroLiion: “People will have to accept

that they can’t travel as far as they’re used to. It’s not

possible to drive 800 kilometers with a battery that you

can charge in five minutes.” A report of the PBL published

last year showed that under the present circumstances

only five percent of all households with one car can make

their current rides with an electric car.

PBL researcher Anco Hoen: “We need a combination of

technical improvements and we need a reduction of the

prize difference between an e-car and a conventional car

to reach the governments ambition in 2025. Even if these

improvements were made, the average citizen will still

value the petrol car more than the electric car. There is a

lot of funding needed to get to one million users. One

million is a lot. I wonder if that many Dutch citizens can be

found to make the change.”

Source: NRC Next, 2nd of May, 2012 by Jorg Leijten

Rational Middle

26 | NRG Magazine edition 6

No

Everyone has an opinion based on fact and senses. Dutch newspaper NRC Next states that even with the increasing fuel

prizes Dutch citizens don’t want to partake in electric driving. They wonder why not? But Alef Arendsen, one of the

founders of The New Motion doesn’t agree. Read the opinions and make up your mind. There is a rational middle…

Rational Middle

Electric driving is the future...

Critics in the Newspaper

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 27

A decade after the introduction of the GSM standard, there

wasn’t even in the furthest corner of the world a mobile

phone. The introduction of electric transportation will not

go as fast, but I am sure that by 2020 the electric car will be

common on the Dutch road. The rise of e-mobility involves

quite a lot struggles. Cars are expensive, electric cars even

more. Every car needs a charging post and the infrastructure

needs to have fast charging poles for travelers on the go.

Luckily there is progress in all areas. The government helps

by remitting the cost addition for e-cars and other incentives.

To purchase an e-car is only 10 to 20 percent more expensive

compared to a similar pertrol car. Every month hundreds of

charging point are appearing; at homes, offices and for

example parking lots like Q-Park. The network of the fast

charging points is expanding every month.

Conventions make it possible to charge abroad and the

introduction of range extenders ensures many drivers with

electric drives for a large amount of their journeys. With this

going to the South of France is much more appealing than

with a build in gasoline motor. The Ampera of Opel is such

a car and an outright bestseller. BMW, Volkswagen and

other German brands will follow in the coming year with

appealing cars.

All of this ensures the fact that within one year after

introduction the first mass production e-car, the Nissan LEAF,

has sold 500 new e-cars just in March. That is one percent of

the total new sold cars withing one year. Very promising for

the next ten years indeed!

Rational Middle

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 27

Yes

Alef Arendsen is one of the founders of The New Motion,

provider of a network of charging points and subscriptions for

electric cars. After his career in the software industry where he

founded two companies, which he developed successfully and

sold, he focuses now on the large scale introduction of electric

cars. Initially started in the Netherlands, The New Motion is

taking its first steps in Germany and Belgium.

Alef Arendsen

Everyone has an opinion based on fact and senses. Dutch newspaper NRC Next states that even with the increasing fuel

prizes Dutch citizens don’t want to partake in electric driving. They wonder why not? But Alef Arendsen, one of the

founders of The New Motion doesn’t agree. Read the opinions and make up your mind. There is a rational middle…

Rational Middle

Electric driving is the future...

Following the successful conferences An Innovative Truth I

(June 22, 2009), An Innovative Truth II (15 September 2010)

and An Innovative Truth III (22 June 2011) Smart Energy

Collective, IIP Duurzame ICT Foundation – platform for

sustainable ICT and GreenICT Foundation organize An

Innovative Truth IV - Sustainable ICT & Energy Conference.

An Innovative Truth IV is an energizing and involvement

stimulating conference on the themes of Sustainable ICT and

Energy. An Innovative Truth IV - Sustainable ICT & Energy

Conference - takes place at 20 June 2012 in the Beatrix

Theatre in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

An Innovative Truth IV - Sustainable ICT & Energy Conference

is initiated by GreenICT Foundation and is made possible by

financial contributions of Smart Energy Collective and

Alliander.

An Innovative Truth IV

An Innovative Truth IV

In August 2008, GreenICT Foundation and the Ministry of

Economic Affairs (EL&I) took the initiative to organize an

energizing conference to promote energy efficiency and

sustainable ICT. This initiative resulted in three successful An

Innovative Truth conferences, including contributions from

the Ministry of Economic Affairs (EL&I) and the European

Commission, on 22 June 2009, 15 September 2010 and 22

June 2011. The conference website - aninnovativetruth.nl -

provides a proper impression of these conferences regarding

content, programs, objectives and results.

The previous editions of An Innovative Ttruth were organized

by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture & Innovation,

the ICT Innovation Platform for Sustainable ICT (IIP Duurzame

ICT Foundation) and GreenICT Foundation. They persuaded

top speakers to contribute to An Innovative Truth. In 2009 the

then Staatsscretaris Frank Heemskerk and Linda Mauperon

cabinet member, replacing Eurocommissioner Vivian Reding,

attended as keynote speaker. The then Director-General

Energy and Telecom Mark Frequin acted as chair of the day. In

2010 Hans Vijlbrief Director-General Energy, Telecom and

Markets attended as keynote speaker.

Partly based on the outcomes and results of previous editions

An Innovative Truth IV will also be a follow-up. This conference

will look back, but mostly generate new activities and

partnerships.

An Innovative Truth IV is a non-commercial conference. The

purpose of this conference is to stimulate mutual cross-

fertilizations between science, government and business

(suppliers and users) in the area of sustainable ICT & Energy,

and because of this to promote scientifically challenging and

commercially interesting innovation and research.

An Innovative Truth IV - The background

28 | NRG Magazine edition 6

ProgrammeThe program includes among others various plenary keynote

presentations, theme related workshop sessions, practical

cases and a plenary debate between representatives of science,

government and business. The indicative program of An

Innovative Truth IV on June 20, 2012 is as follows:

09.15 - 09.45 Welcome & Information Market

09.45 - 09.55 Opening by chair of the day Roderik

van Grieken - Nederlands Debat Instituut

09.55 - 10.20 Keynote I

10.20 - 10.45 Keynote II

10.45 - 11.10 Keynote III

11.10 - 11.30 Break & information market

(including poster presentations by Ph.D students)

11.30 - 12.30 The Battle, debate among representatives of

science, government and business

12.30 - 13.30 Lunch & information market

(including poster presentations by Ph.D students)

13.30 - 14.10 Workshop Sessions Round I

14.10 - 14.15 Possibility to change theme room

14.15 - 14.55 Workshop Sessions Round II

14.55 - 15.15 Break & information market

(including poster presentations by Ph.D students)

15.15 - 15.55 Workshop Sessions Round III

15.55 - 16.00 Possibility to change theme room

16.00 - 16.25 Practice makes Perfect - practical cases

15.55 - 16.00 Continuation plenary program

16.30 - 16.55 Keynote IV

16.55 - 17.00 Wrap-up and closure by chair of the day Roderik

van Grieken

17.00 - 18.00 Networking drinks

* Because of a possible fifth keynote speaker, the program

may be subject to change.

The Battle is the plenary debate among representatives

of science, government and business (ICT suppliers and

users). During the debate these four stakeholder groups

confront each other with their questions and concerns.

Thoughtful and respectful, but also provocative and

sharp. The four stakeholder groups each are represented

by a spokesman.

As in previous editions of An Innovative Truth in 2009,

2010 and 2011, this year the debate will be led by Roderik

van Grieken, director of the Nederlands Debat Instituut.

The Battle - debate on sustainable ICT & Energy

The organization of the An Innovative Truth IV -

conference distinguishes the societal importance of

scientificly challenging and - applicable thus -

commercially interesting research and innovation. Using

poster presentations by PhD students, the organizers aim

to bring scientific research in the field of sustainable ICT

& Energy to the attention of a wider audience, and in

particular the conference attendees. For this exhibition

space is provided in the Constantijn Foyer.

PhD students engaged in research in the cross-over field

of ICT & Energy, ICT & Sustainability and Sustainable ICT,

are cordially invited to present their research topic and

results during the conference and to discuss these with

the interested audience.

In line with the structure of the programme, the

organization strives for a balanced and objective

composition of the presented posters. It would the best

to provide all PhD research in this field a presentation

opportunity. Because of the limitation of available space,

this isn’t possible. Research groups, interested in

participation, are asked to make a selection of one or

possibly two posters.

Interested PhD students and professors with PhD

students active in one of the above mentioned

areas, can contact the conference organization via

www.aninnovativetruth.nl.

The PhD research poster presentations

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 29

An Innovative Truth IV

30 | NRG Magazine edition 6

The programme will include four plenary

keynotes by among others Thijs Aarten

- CEO DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability

and René Steenvoorden - CIO Rabobank

& President CIO Platform. It also includes

workshop sessions and a plenary debate

among representatives of science,

government and the ICT supplying and

applying business. In line with previous

editions, this year all speakers and track

leaders are top ambassadors for the

respective themes.

Speakers who already confirmed their

contribution include Steven Luitjens -

Director Logius, Frits Verheij - Director

smart energy DNV KEMA & leader Smart

Grids (Top sector Energy), Prof. Erik

Huizer - Director technology SURFnet &

Professor UU, Ad Schoof - Secretary

topteam Energy Ministry of Economic

Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation,

Prof. Ton Koonen - Professor Eindhoven

University of Technology, Teun Bokhoven

- Director ZEN Renewables & leader

Energy in the built environment (Top

sector Energy), Prof. Hester Bijl -

professor Delft University of Technology

& director Delft Energy Initiative, Henk

van Elburg - programme coordinator

monitoring energy smart meter

Agentschap NL, René Steenvoorden -

CIO Rabobank & Chairman CIO Platform,

Rens Knegt - Director Netbeheer

Nederland, Wim Berns - Sector Manager

Climate & Built Environment Agentschap

NL, Marianne Kuijpers-Linde - Director

urban development TNO, Prof. Johann

Hurink - Professor University of Twente,

Edwin Zoontjes Manager - ICT ~ Milieu

(ICT ~ Office), Marga Blom - Manager

KPN Energy Management Group, Meiny

Prince - Priva CEO, Prof. René Janssen -

professor Eindhoven University of

Technology, Coks Stoffer - General

Manager Cisco Netherlands, Albert

Molderink - Postdoc researcher

University of Twente, Renzo Taal - Senior

Vice President & General Manager EMEA

Philips Lighting, Leendert Jan de Olde -

senior manager Sustainability Philips

Consumer Lifestyle and Thijs Aarten -

DNV CEO KEMA Energy & Sustainability.

Roderik van Grieken - Director

Nederlands Debat Instituut will act as

conference chairman.

The Conference speakers

The organizationAn Innovative Truth IV - Sustainable ICT & Energy

Conference is a co-operation of Smart Energy

Collective, IIP Duurzame ICT Foundation - Platform

for Sustainable ICT and GreenICT Foundation.

Besides the project organizers, Smart Energy

Collective, IIP Duurzame ICT Foundation - Platform

for Sustainable ICT and GreenICT Foundation,

partners involved include the Ministry of Economic

Affairs, Agriculture & Innovation, Alliander,

AgentschapNL, DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability,

CIO Platform, Philips, Nederlands Debat Instituut,

ICT ~ Office, NIRICT (the 3 TUs), NWO, KPN,

Microsoft, TNO, STW, Cisco, TTA World, Netbeheer

Nederland and the European Commission. An

Innovative Truth IV - Sustainable ICT & Energy

Conference is an initiative of GreenICT Foundation

and is supported financially by Smart Energy

Collective and Alliander.

An Innovative Truth IV

The thematic tracksThe workshop sessions are divided into four parallel thematic tracks.

As with previous editions, these parallel tracks fit seamlessly with the

current Top sector policy. Each track consists of three workshop rounds.

In between rounds there is a possibility to change tracks.

The four parallel workshop themes are:

- Top sector Energy & ICT

- Smart Grids

- ICT & Energy in built environment

- ICT & materials

The theme tracks are led by expert track leaders as Ad Schoof - Secretary

Top Team Energy Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and

Innovation (track Top sector Energy & ICT), Frits Verheij, director smart

energy DNV KEMA and leader Top sector Energy theme Smart Grids

(track Smart grids) and Teun Bokhoven - Director ZEN Renewables and

leader Top sector Energy theme Energy saving in the built environment

(track ICT & Energy in the built environment).

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 31NRG Magazine edition 6 | 31

The increasing demand for electricity in combination with the rising supply of

deentrally generated energy makes innovation of the electricity grid essential. Smart

grids with ICT applications offer opportunities for energy transition at reasonable

cost. However only if we succeed to establish co-operation in the chain from supplier

to buyer. Scientific research, government, industry and network operators need to

create forces to work collectively to find solutions to the dilemmas we’re facing. This

is to keep energy supply affordable, safe and reliable in the future. So not only smart

grids, but above all smart networks!

Rens Knegt

CEO Netbeheer Nederland

An Innovative Truth IV

The potential of ICT to not only enable a leap in reducing carbon emission but also

in making a step change towards a sustainable society and economy is enormous.

In order to realize this potential two aspects are paramount: The first - driving

innovation that has impact not only in the future but also in the present. The

second - applying and scaling existing innovation broadly. This is only possible

through true connection of disciplines and competences.

An Innovative Truth IV fosters exactly that - true value creation through bringing

together science, business (ICT and energy suppliers and users) and government. In

order to accelerate impact together.

Sabine Hess

Environmental Sustainability Lead

Microsoft Netherlands

The transition to a sustainable society, where we can share prosperity without

leaving a footprint in the earth ecosystem, requires a turnaround in technological

solutions used for providing energy, clean water, food and health care. New

technologies need to be developed for energy supply using distributed generation

of power from sustainable sources as sun, wind and water to balance supply and

demand.

The current Top sectors policy aims at establishing public-private partnerships for

commercial exploitation of knowledge gained through scientific research. Making

the potential of Dutch scientific research clearly visible to business organizations is

crucial therefore.

An Innovative Truth IV is the meeting place for the stakeholders involved: science,

government and business. Next to the oral presentations by distinguished speakers,

poster presentations by PhD students will call attention of business and government

to the scientific capabilities.

Prof.dr.ir. T. Backx

Dean Faculty of Electrical Engineering

Eindhoven University of Technology

“ENSURING HUMAN CAPITAL WORKING FOR A SUSTAINABLE AND HEALTHY FUTURE”

BECOME A MEMBER OF TTA WORLD... Recruit the Talents you strategically need and increase your competitive advantage!

www.tta-world.com

I am Looking for Talent

The I-Datacenter is located at the

industrial area Leeuwerikenveld in

Coevorden. It is part of the I-Beheer

Group, as is I-Beheer Automation,

I-Hosting and I-Connect2. Van der Veer:

“Our expansion with this datacenter

means that we can provide services

such as cloud, hosting, backup and fall-

out facilities.”

The I-Datacenter has a green nature

with a climate neutral system. Van der

Veer: “Cooling is an essential part of

good functioning of the servers and

this has to happen continuously.

Datacenters are usually cooled by

compressors which costs a lot of energy.

The I-Datacenter is being cooled by a

system that makes use of the cool

outside temperature. This cooling

systems have an optimal performance

when the outside temperature doesn’t

go higher than 16 degrees Celsius. In

2010 the average temperature in the

Netherlands was 9,1 degrees Celsius,

this means that the biggest part of the

year it is possible to cool the

I-Datacenter in an efficient and

profitable way.”

When the temperature exceeds

16 degrees Celsius, the compressors

switch on and help keep the

temperatures in the data room at the

right amount. The I-Datacenter also

makes use of the so called cold corridor

concept. This concept ensures the flow

of cold air on the front side of the

IT-systems, while the hot air is disposed

at the back end of the systems to the

chillers. This division of air flows is used

by many datacenters and is a very

efficient way of cooling.

Van der Veer: “We secure the safety

and improve the performance and

accessibility of IT-platforms. We’d like

to offer you the necessary collocation

services whether or not it is a dedicated

server, a rack or an entire data room.

With our energy efficient approach

and ambition, we are the ones to go

to.”.

First independent datacenter in DrentheI-Beheer

Do you need room for the server of your

business? I-Beheer Group has opened

I-Datacenter in Coevorden where there is

room for a maximum of 2500 servers on

1500 square meter. Owner Johan van der

Veer tells: “We are first in the province of

Drenthe to provide this on such large scale.

Not only we have a fortunate location, but

we can provide a good prize because we

implemented various innovations.”

I-Beheer

Johan van der Veer

Owner I-Beheer

“ENSURING HUMAN CAPITAL WORKING FOR A SUSTAINABLE AND HEALTHY FUTURE”

BECOME A MEMBER OF TTA WORLD…Jumpstart your career in energy and change the world!

www.tta-world.com

I am a Talent

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 35

To measure is to know. And to know is to save. Schleifenbauer ProductsEverywhere in the world data centers are synonym for energy use. A

current server, wherever, costs more on energy than on the write-off of it.

The power consumption can be much more efficiently and there is a lot of

attention to do so. One of the main conditions to save energy is to measure

energy. Schleifenbauer Products has specialized in this area and measures

and presents energy data.

Marketing Director at Schleifenbauer

Products Ronald Timmermans: “The

accurate influence of our meters and

the degree of energy saving is not

directly visible. The consequences of

energy measuring is that consumers

are becoming aware of their power

usage and are adjusting their behavior.

It’s like driving a car. When you see on

your dashboard that you’re exceeding

the maximum speed, you adjust it

manually. The same goes with one of

our meters in a data center. You can

see how much energy is used and you

can draw conclusions with that

information and take action.”

The meters visualize the energy use

and the applications are numerous. For

example, the technical applications, to

prevent energy loss, or the financial

applications, less energy use will lower

the costs. And of course, a more

efficient energy use is also a more

sustainable one. Sustainability is very

important for Schleifenbauer Products.

They show this both for the products

they make which are energetic very

efficient and for the production

methods they use.

Ronald Timmermans: “Our concept is

unique. We build costumer specific. We

don’t have ten or twenty different

products. We want to work in a

sustainable way and because of that

we only make what is necessary. We

think that mass production creates

exuberance and we don’t want to be a

part of that. Power usage effectiveness

is so important and unique per data

center, we believe we have to make

this customly. The client shouldn’t

adjust to what’s available. The producer

should adapt to the user’s needs.” This

way of thinking is one of the reasons

why the employees of Schleifenbauer

Products don’t operate from an office.

They work at the location of the

costumer and provide the client with

an unique meter.

Recently, Schleifenbauer Products

offers the DP-meter. This meter

measures the energy use at the

distribution panel, close to the source.

Though the data has less granularity, it

is far more cheaper and faster than

other meters. The meters itself are

made as energy efficient as possible.

Ronald Timmermans: “There are data

centers with thousand or more meters.

If the meters use 2 Watt instead of 20

Watt, it is an enormous difference.

These meters are absolutely necessary,

because to measure is to know. And to

know, is to save energy.”.

Ronald Timmermans

Marketing Director at

Schleifenbauer Products BV

Schleifenbauer Products

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 35

36 | NRG Magazine edition 6

Leonie van der Steen and Luc Brugman are energy consultants and work for the strategy

consulting firm Squarewise. “Currently a lot is happening in the sector”, Van der Steen

starts. “The system is getting more complex and interconnected. As a result, individual

companies cannot have sufficient impact by themselves, but need partners to make a

change.” Brugman adds: “Smart grids can be the connecting element, not only do they

enable the use of renewable energy, but they also stimulate companies to cooperate

more and in more diverse ways.

Squarewise helps both traditional players to find a new role, as well as organizations that

are completely new in the energy market. For smart grids this means looking beyond

cables in the ground or the energy delivered to the customer. Moreover, it is not limited

to technical solutions that add a layer of intelligence to the current infrastructure. It is

about involving all the relevant parties and having them consciously choose their future

roles and accompanying focus.

Brugman: “We challenge companies to really think about their raison d’etre. Companies

have to realize that the world is changing and need help to change with it. Reasoning

from their added value can have a radical impact on how a company is operating. Energy

suppliers are asking themselves this question already: ‘Is it my role to supply energy or do

I provide a comfortable way of life for customers?’ The first is about selling as much

electricity and gas as possible, and actually forces you to compete with all kinds of energy

saving technologies. The latter on the other hand opens the way to collaboration and

creates a more efficient and more sustainable energy system.”

“Many companies take the existing framework as a given”, says Van der Steen. “One has

to look at it the other way around. Try not to focus on the threats, but the opportunities

arising from the current changes. On the one hand smart grids demand large investments

and the necessity to trust in new technologies. On the other hand, competitors become

partners and many new services are possible that have not yet been claimed by anyone.

Let’s think from a customer’s mindset. Try to look at what services they actually desire.

Then, assess which of these services demand the skill set your company uniquely has.”

The current business models are not sustainable in both the economical and the ecological

sense of the word. Brugman: “If you adapt your focus and your role in the energy system,

you might still have an essential role in the next 50 years, even when the sector has moved

on to completely new business models and forms of energy.”.

Keep up with the changeSquarewiseMore than ever the energy sector is on the move. Organizations used to be able to

innovate by themselves, but now partners are needed to innovate successfully. Smart

grids are a good example of the need for a system change to be able to innovate.

According to Squarewise, they act as a driver to raise the whole energy system to a

new, more complex level.

Leonie van der Steen

Energy Consultant Squarewise

Luc Brugman

Energy Consultant Squarewise

Squarewise

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 37

Not just green, but sustainable in every wayInterxion

In 1998 Interxion Netherlands B.V. started building their first datacenter in

Amsterdam. Now, in 2012, the seventh is under construction. Managing

Director Michel van den Assem tells: “Our great development was based on

the enormous internet growth of the time. In 2002 the market collapsed and

we suffered from this. However, it made us aware of our costs and energy

consumption is of course one of the biggest costs a datacenter can have.”

Interxion became energy efficient because

of their survival mode. Van den Assem:

“We had to reduce the costs. We started

thinking how we could deal with the

energy flows in a different, smarter and

more efficient way. This subject, nowadays

very popular indeed, made our agenda

already in 2002.”

Recently energy efficiency got a new label:

green. This label is used abundantly, but

Interxion believes that energy efficiency

has to be an integrated part of their

business. Van den Assem: “We are energy

efficient, not because it is green and looks

good from a marketing perspective, but

because it is really necessary from a

financial perspective. We are very clear

about that.”

So, how does this translate to reality?

“When we build a datacenter, we make

use of the new techniques available”, Van

den Assem says. “For example, we make

the cooling as efficient as possible. Imagine

a customer who places 500 servers in one

of our datacenters. These units have a

certain power, we cannot change anything

about that. However the units also

generate heat and we can manage the

way we deal with this.” Servers in a

datacenter work day and night. You

cannot experiment with them. To make

the cooling as efficient as possible,

Interxion converts chillers that make use of

the outside temperature. There is a strict

segregation in the warm and cold flows

and they use variable fans.

Van den Assem: “It is important to keep

measuring your own energy flows. The

power usage efficiency is not the only

thing that determines whether or not a

datacenter is green. It also depends on the

kind of energy that you use. The whole

chain has to be connected.”

One of the biggest challenges is not how

to apply the new techniques, but also how

to keep an existing datacenter up to date.

“We have to keep communicating with

governments and keep looking at the

possibilities and limitations. We have to

keep looking at what we can do to be

more energy efficient and not just focus

on a target number”, says Van den Assem.

“We take our responsibility, not just to be

green, but even more to be sustainable in

all areas.”.

Interxion

Cold Aisle Containment

Data Center Cold Aisle

Containment Pods

Vision Grid NavigatorFast 3-d presentation of distribution networks including calculation results on a geographical base.

Vision Cable AnalysisPractical software for calculating the current rating of cables according to IEC standards.

Vision Power QualityClear interpretation and presen-tation of PQ measurements in a uniform classifi cation system.

Vision Network AnalysisComplete solution for transmission, distribution and industrial power systems analysis.

Vision Fault FinderAutomatic location of faults in medium voltage distribution systems with buried cables.

Phase to Phase | Arnhem, The Netherlands | t: +31 26 352 37 00 | www.phasetophase.com

With the Vision Power Range, Phase to Phase provides both grid operator and industry with the smartest solutions on network analysis.

Vision LV Network DesignUnique program for Low Voltage power systems design and analysis, including safety grounding.

Vision Power Range, base of smart grids

NRG Magazine-adv_2.indd 6-7 04-05-12 17:52

Vision Grid NavigatorFast 3-d presentation of distribution networks including calculation results on a geographical base.

Vision Cable AnalysisPractical software for calculating the current rating of cables according to IEC standards.

Vision Power QualityClear interpretation and presen-tation of PQ measurements in a uniform classifi cation system.

Vision Network AnalysisComplete solution for transmission, distribution and industrial power systems analysis.

Vision Fault FinderAutomatic location of faults in medium voltage distribution systems with buried cables.

Phase to Phase | Arnhem, The Netherlands | t: +31 26 352 37 00 | www.phasetophase.com

With the Vision Power Range, Phase to Phase provides both grid operator and industry with the smartest solutions on network analysis.

Vision LV Network DesignUnique program for Low Voltage power systems design and analysis, including safety grounding.

Vision Power Range, base of smart grids

NRG Magazine-adv_2.indd 6-7 04-05-12 17:52

Henk Koopmans

Back to the future

Ever wondered what moments in life changed the view of those we

look up to? Henk Koopmans looks back at moments in his live that

changed his views and visions, moments in his childhood, study and

start of his professional career. He goes back to the future…

with

It is absolutely necessary to cooperate with

specialism’s from other sectors. A doctor can’t

work without an ICT’er, neither can a lawyer.

Be aware of this and conversate more with

each other.

Henk Koopmans (1944) is the owner of

Inventures Management. He is member of

the board of the Dutch Energy Transition

Organization and chairman of the ICT

Innovation Platform Sensor Networks. He

studied Accountancy and during his studies

he became interested in the ICT. He held

various positions as CEO and board member

and is specialized in advising business

about financing, organizational structures

combined with high tech systems.

The arrival of the first computer system was parallel with my graduation in

accountancy in 1967. I had this strong feeling that working with computers

would have a tremendous influence on society and the way it would develop.

It was fascinating to see with what ease those machines took over the jobs of

hundreds of bookkeepers. I worked at an accountancy office when I

experienced this for the first time. I watched it happening. The floors with

bookkeepers got empty while the computer department grew bigger

simultaneously.

I enjoyed being part of this computerization. I was optimistic and wanted to

join. I thought of it as an outstanding platform. I was already there.

Until the eighties the energy question wasn’t a big deal. It was then that

Moore’s Law occurred.

A double calculation capacity for half of the money. It was not until ten years

later people started realizing that all those computers at their desks were

devouring electricity.

I thought it was natural. Obviously, it wasn’t, but I didn’t experienced it that

way. It was like having a telephone in the fifties. We had one and thought it

was normal. But there were only forty or fifty in the whole city. That’s what

you get with spoiled people. The forerunners of the baby boomers, I am one

of them, thought it come to them naturally and used all this techniques

abundantly.

There is almost no product in whatever sector that doesn’t has some kind of

ICT in it. Computers have impregnated our society in a way we could have

never imagined. They have an enormous influence on the production and

distribution of energy, and on the transition to renewable energy.

Currently I am on the Advisory Board of the Dutch Energy Transition. Energy

will be democratized. Decentralized. I hope it leads to a civil transformation.

Now, energy is transmitted top down to the costumer. This will change. And

that change will mean everything for the energy consumption.

People will produce their own energy. There will be embedded systems and

ICT will play a much bigger role. Households will communicate and trade

energy. They’ll use so called smart grids. The same intelligence can be used for

welfare, health, remote caretaking and more.

People still think way too much with a present mindset. They think about

making existing systems more efficient instead of designing a new system.

The energy sector characterizes itself with too much introspection. Let’s use

knowledge from outside parties. Those fantastic modern cars, we should

build houses like that. We should really do something new..

Tip for Talent.

Bio.

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 41

“It was fascinating to see with what ease those machines took over the jobs of hundreds of bookkeepers“

42 | NRG Magazine edition 642 | NRG Magazine edition 6

www.nrgbattle.nl

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 43

Day Programme25 May 2012

09:00 - 09:30 Arrival of the guests

09:45 - 10:15 Opening

10:30 - 13:00 Start NRG Battle - working on the cases

13:00 - 14:00 Lunch

14:00 - 14:15 Introducing the jury

14:15 - 16:30 Continuation NRG Battle - working on the cases 16:30 - 17:00 Break - prepare for pitches

17:00 - 18:00 Dinner

18:00 - 20:00 Students do a pitch for jury and public

20:00 - 22:00 Drinks, networking & announcement of the finalists

www.nrgbattle.nl

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 43

Vision of the Jury

From left to right: Ton Schoot Uiterkamp, Jeroen Rijnhart, Pieter Romer and Anton Broenink.

of

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 45

Vision of the Jury

The vision of the jury is crucial at the International NRG

Battle. They will select the winning teams and decide

whether or not their idea is good enough for the finals.

At the preliminary round in February these four jury

members made their appearance. Ton Schoot Uiterkamp,

em. Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University

of Groningen, Jeroen Rijnhart, Director of Water & Energy

at Grontmij, Pieter Romer, Executive Director Operations

at Alliander and Anton Broenink, Chief Operating Officer

at GasTerra.

Jeroen Rijnhart: “I am very curious. The students are full of

energy. Some of them are busy with the concept, while I see

others calculating.” Ton Schoot Uiterkamp adds: “The intensity

of the group process strikes me in particular. The extent of their

involvement, the way they are dealing with all the work is

inspiring to see. They work straight to their goal.”

Talent in EnergyPieter Romer: “In the next years we will need a lot of innovation.

We live in a time of energy transition. The question is which

direction we will go. Will it be electric driving or cars on biogas?

What will it be in the future? There is still some mystery in this.

To cope with all this as an industry we will need all of the

available talent.”

Ton Schoot Uiterkamp: “And not only talent, but also the

ingenuity to literally survive in the coming years. We must

refrain from existing infrastructures that are based on reliable

but non-regenerative recourses. At the same time we have to

set up a completely new energy supply that relies on unreliable

but endless recourses like the sun.”

NRG BattleAnton Broenink: “We will look for a feasible solution. It must be

non-obvious of character and sustainable. My experience is that

if you want to convince others, the quality of your presentation

is as important as de quality of your calculations and the idea

behind your case.”

Jeroen Rijnhart: “I value the NRG Battle very much because it

brings young talent and businesses together. An encounter at a

career event or a job interview lasts only for half an hour or less.

The case instructor gets the chance at the NRG Battle to follow

the student all day and watch him or her work on their own

case. It is a great way of attracting young talent.”.

Only once in a blue moon we meet top talents. Not only in their studies they are achievers, they also

have a unique personality and bring added value to your company. In every battle we choose four top

talents with uncommon combinations of talents. Take the Strategic Talent, both efficient and creative,

a very unique blend in one person, so rare and worth meeting. You cannot see this in a resume or

appearance, that’s why we use the Big Five personality test. We think these four are real top talents!

Read their stories on the next pages.

For more information about the way we test Talent, contact Geertje Dam, [email protected].

Talents in the Spotl ight

in the

TTA WorldTalents in the Spotl ight

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 47

48 | NRG Magazine edition 6

Master Energy Sciences

Strategic Talent

Roel Stijl is a Strategic Talent. He thinks innovative but stays critical and

realistic. “I see myself as motivated, efficient and pro-active. I speak my

mind.” After his bachelor Physics and Astronomy he finished his master

studies Neurosciences & Cognition to start the master Energy Sciences.

“It is a very technical study, but at the same time it has an innovative

character which appeals to me.”

Roel Stijl

“Studies about sustainability become either very technical

with almost no social views or very idealistic with hardly any

calculations. Energy Sciences is different. It helps me to focus

on many areas in the energy sector. Energy to me is innovation

and challange. There are many career opportunities since so

few people want to work in energy. I think the biggest

challenge is energy efficiency.” That’s why Roel Stijl would

like to work in consultancy in the future.

“To, me Bill Gates is an inspiration. He made an amazing

amount of money and subsequently changed himself to help

the world. And not in a philanthropic way, but constructive

and realistic.” Roel joined the battle and brought two of his

study mates with him to team Alliander.

“The biggest part of the day I was the leader of the group

and structured our brainstorming sessions. The guidance

from Alliander was really good.

They send their best men to help us. At first, I thought the

case was a bit trivial, but we were able to calculate a lot and

make a strong case.”

“I have worked at a small consultancy agency in Amsterdam

for a while now. They give students real projects and we

work in a team of five members to solve these problems.

Actually, I work on a case like one of the NRG Battle every

month.” When Roel works on a project he likes to work in a

social responsible way. “I don’t go as far as some of my

classmates. Things have to stay economically balanced.”

Talents in the Spotl ight

Things have to stay economically balanced

“The biggest part of the day I was the leader of the group and structured

our brainstorming sessions”

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 49

Master Global Business and

Stakeholder Management

Gabriela Nicolae brought a lot of energy to the NRG Battle in March.

She is creative and decisive, a real entrepreneur. “I like to challenge the

status quo. My goal is to develop myself day by day to a higher point

and to keep finding better solutions.” She started her studies with a

Bachelor degree in Business Administration and followed up with two

master studies.

Gabriela Nicolae

Businesses and governments working together

Entrepreneurial Talent

Talents in the Spotl ight

“I am still in the process of defining my goals. I want to make

an impact in the business world, however I feel that I could

bring a valuable contribution on the governmental side as

well. I find the interface between business and governments

extremely appealing.” Gabriela’s first Master is International

Business-track Strategy & Innovation and had a hundred

percent business focus. I realized business is just one part of

the story. For a sustainable solution you need all parts of the

discussion; you need the cooperation between the corporate

and governmental worlds, but also the active involvement of

civil society.” She started her second Master, Global Business

and Stakeholder Management. “In the future I see myself

working for the European Union or maybe a big multi-

national.”

“I wish to believe that the energy sector will be driven by an

unconventional way in the future, like sun or wind power. I

hope that our oil use will decrease year by year. Businesses

and governments can trigger that change and speed up this

process. I’d like to bring a contribution and make companies

see that it is not profitable to ignore this at the end of the

day.”

Gabriela is very driven to make a change. That is one of the

reasons why she joined the NRG Battle. “I made it to the

finals with team E.ON. The case is about lowering heat

delivery in Leiden. At the beginning it was a bit challenging

for me because the case was very technical.

After the technical team members explained it to us, I could

jump in with my business knowledge. We got a lot of support

from the company and I can only imagine the extent of that

support in the coming months. I am very excited.”

“I realized business is just one part of the story”

50 | NRG Magazine edition 6

Bachelor of Advanced Sensors Applications

Multi Talent

Claudiu Ilincanu has an engineering background, but is interested in all

the areas. Not a big surprise for such a multi talent. “I am curious and

love to learn a lot in a short amount of time.” Claudiu is decisive,

efficient, creative and has great team spirit. He studies Advanced

Sensors Applications at the Hanze University in Groningen.

Claudiu Ilincanu

“I joined my study in the second year. I decided to come to

the Netherlands for my studies because here there are good

energy studies. My study is new and only available in the

Netherlands. It can be applied to many fields, like electronic,

agriculture, energy, robotics and health care. It has a bio and

a chemical side to it and connects everything with each other,

for example like a green house.” Claudiu likes to be an

engineer with management qualities. “My long term goal is

to become a manager for technical projects, like the MBA or

so. In the first half of next year I want to do a minor in

renewable energy. In the second part I will be graduating.

My ambition is to get in to a good company, like Shell.”

“The future is very bright for energy. Fossils are almost gone,

everybody works with renewables. Everything depends on

energy. I think you can make energy so much more efficient

with all the new technological developments. You can build

smarter apps, make everything more intelligent.”

Claudiu sees himself working with Smart Grids. Claudiu was

on team GasTerra 2. “I liked the stress, the pressure that you

have to finish. It brings out more ideas.

My role was, according to my background, to come up with

a new concept for storing and reducing energy. And I helped

calculate and design the interface that we composed.

Unfortunately we didn’t enter the finals, but it was a great

experience none the less.”

Talents in the Spotl ight

I am Interested in all the areas

“The future is very bright for energy. Fossils are almost gone, everybody

works with renewable. ”

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 51

Master Management

Nataly Vukobrat is a multi talent. She is creative, thinks innovative and

is decisive, but doesn’t lose sight of the human aspects. “Business is not

just about hard facts, it is also about human relations. As an individual

you can be important, but as a group you can accomplish much more.”

Nataly finished her bachelor Economics at HEC in Paris and continued

with a master study in Management.

Nataly Vukobrat

Business is about human relations

Multi Talent

Talents in the Spotl ight

“My dad worked in the energy sector. I grew up with this

background. When I started my business school and chose

energy-related courses, I became more interested in the

matter. Becoming president of the HEC Energy Club really

directed me towards a career in energy.” Nataly is only just

22, but already working her way to the top. “I really devote

myself to the projects I believe in. In a way I’d like to change

the world.”

“All the main issues in our time are linked with energy. Being

involved in energy projects can help improve people’s lives

and change the planet. The future of energy is in renewables.

Not in the near future, but in decades to come. It is our duty,

as the new generation, to look for cleaner and more

sustainable ways.” Nataly knows what she’s interested in.

“I’d like to start my own business in the energy field. Of

course in renewable, but maybe in waste treatment.” Besides

energy she loves art.

“It teaches you to look differently at things, that helps in

Business.” Nataly worked at the NRG Battle for team E.ON 1.

“We didn’t make it to the finals, but our solution was very

original. I think the jury expected more innovation, though

the firm E.ON was very pleased with our work. The case had

both an engineering and a business background. Since we

had three engineers in our team, I was the only one with a

business background.

As team members we could complement each other very

good. It was an enriching experience to join the NRG Battle

and share different views.”

“All the main issues in our time are linked with energy. ”

52 | NRG Magazine edition 6

The Winner is

The city of Leeuwarden has what it

takes to become the European water

technology capital by 2020. Leeuw-

arden is also making the best effort to

create a sustainable future and wants

to reach independence from fossils by

2020. With this in mind team Grontmij

started their case about water and

energy. The Water Campus is truly

unique. A large expansion has been

planned to be delivered in 2014 and

these new buildings should be as

energy efficient and sustainable as

possible.

All the organizations combined in the

Water Campus have sustainable water

technology in common. The challenge

for team Grontmij is to combine both

water, energy and sustainable building

technologies to create the Sustainable

Water Campus of the future with, of

course, water being the leading factor.

Arjun Mahalingam, one of the students

of team Grontmij: “We came up with a

closed water cycle to distribute cooling

and heating in the building and want

to use biogas from a near sewage plant

to clean the water from laboratories.

We are very excited to have won with

our ideas.”

BiogasTeam Alliander had the task to think

up a customer focused and alternative

technological solutions for the over

capacity of biogas in the summer

months. Patrick Son was part of the

winning team of the NRG Battle 2011

and works for Alliander now. He was

very excited to join the NRG Battle as a

case instructor this year. “I work at

Alliander for two months now. Actually

I’m still working on the case about

biogas which we won the NRG Battle

2011 with. I can share my knowledge

that I gained last year with the students

now. That’s a great experience.”

LeidenToday’s district heating system in the

city of Leiden operates on a supply

temperature level of approximately

105˚C. Using lower temperature

The first preliminary round of the NRG Battle 2012 was a great success. On March 9, fifteen

teams battled for a place in the finals which will be held in November. They discussed interesting

topics like power to gas, zero-energy concept for a cold-storage warehouse, reduction of

carbon emissions and lower temperature heat delivery. The winner of the day is team Grontmij

with their innovative solution for ‘The Sustainable Water Campus’.

The Winner is

The winners of the preliminary round 1: Team Grontmij

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 53

heating is much more energy efficient. It makes it possible

to heat well insulated buildings in a more constant, steady

and sustainable way. Until now, it is mostly used in new

buildings, but team E.ON worked on a solution for this in

existing buildings. With their original catchphrase of

CO2Lei-mate they thought of sustainable way of solving

this which will have its completion at the finals.

Global ChallengeWhen the Netherlands and the rest of Europe focus on CO2

reduction, countries such as China and India are continuously

using more energy. GasTerra brought in the quest how to

involve the rest of the world in the reduction of carbon

emissions. Team GasTerra came up with their so called Clean

Growth Strategy for Africa. Africa has the potential for

hydro and gas reserves and has potential for solar energy.

In the finals we’ll hear more about their interesting

technological calculations and policy and marketing

strategies.

Team Alliander

Team Gasunie & Kema 1

Team Gasterra

Power to gasGasUnie and KEMA joined forced with the case ‘Power to

Gas’. Their challenge was to design a ‘zero emission energy

plant’ in which ‘Power to Gas’ plays an essential role. Their

focus was twofold: technical (energy and mass balance)

and economical. The solution that the students came up

with was based on the principles of cradle-to-cradle and

very promising. Follow them to the finals for more

interesting solutions..

Team E.on

Team Gasunie & Kema 2

The Winner is

54 | NRG Magazine edition 6

Quote, Unquote

QUOTE, UNQUOTE

Feel the emotions of our talents who competed during the first preliminary round of the

NRG Battle – Europe Edition of 2012, organized in Groningen. Read their quotes about

a day full of innovative ideas presented by the most talented students and find out what

the participation of Toine de Klerk resulted in.

“The main reason I signed up for the NRG Battle is the

opportunity to make a change” – Gabriel Oral, Team Alliander –

“The NRG Battle empowers creative minds and the opportunistic ideas to

challenge our world and make it a better place. I believe we

can make it and I’d be pleased to put my effort in!”

– Maryna Burushkina –

“Even though I have a physics background I am eager to work in the field of energy and to use my

expertise, that’s what motivated me to join the battle”

– Edmond Doumon, Team Grontmij –

“I participated in the NRG Battle to gain knowledge”

– Savas Oroilidis, Team Water & Energy

Solutions –

“The NRG Battle is a great opportunity to share ideas and bring different cultures

together” – Gabriela Nicolae, Team E.ON –

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 55

Siemens Toine de klerk

“Now I look at Siemens as a potential

employer. Meanwhile I know the

company very well and I know what to

expect. When I am graduated I would

very much like to get my career started

as a management trainee at Siemens.

In two years you’ll get to know the

company from beginning to end. You

get the chance to work on controversial

projects and follow a variety of

courses.”

Toine de Klerk studies Technical

Business Management at the TU in

Delft. In 2011 he participated in the

NRG Battle. “I wanted to gain

experience by working on a realistic

and innovative case.

Besides, participating is a great way to

get to know a company better. You

work on a topic from the daily practice

and meet with the case instructors

multiple times a year. It’s a good way to

discover the culture within a company.

I chose Siemens because I wanted to

know more of this well known

multinational. Siemens is very active in

the energy sector: wind mills, energy

centers, gas production, transportation

and distribution.

I look back at my participation with

great joy. Not only because our team

made the finals, but also and mainly

because we just had a great time

together. You work on the case and

have a lot of informal contact with the

staff of Siemens. I mentioned that I was

looking for an internship. Within a day

everything was taken care of and a few

months later I started as an intern at

Siemens. I did research about the

stimulating of wind energy within the

current subsidy system in the

Netherlands. Who knows what

happens after my graduation? In the

end my participation at the NRG Battle

brought me a lot.”.

NRG Battle Finalist joins Siemens!

“In the end my participation at the

NRG Battle brought me a lot”

Toine de Klerk: “Participating in the International NRG Battle

was very interesting: we had an amazing time and I was

invited for an internship at Siemens.”

blog.nrgbattle.com

NowOnline!

www.facebook.com/nrgbattle

Follow the NRG Reporters at the World Gas Conference 4-8 June 2012 in their quest to crack the challenges. Every day new blogs are posted, strengthened by photos and videos. Join our

NRG community now and secure the energy supply by changing the future!

Become an NRG Blogger too!

Follow the road to KL

NRG Magazine edition 6 | 57

NRG Blogger Anastasiia from Scandinavia

My first visit to Scandinavia was 7 months ago in Sweden, and all I knew about it before were two things:“Scandinavian people are ridiculously pretty” and “It is too cold for living”. As it turns out later, only first of two statements is right. Yes, I fell in love with thousand Scandinavian men, because they are simply gorgeous, but I also committed myself to long-term love relationships with this amazing part of the earth. Scandinavia is a role model of sustainable life and from my personal point of view, the way these people think should be studied as obligatory subject at every school in the World.

We live in a community where precise recycling is part of daily routing – it concerns not only plastic and paper, but also light bulbs (which you can waste in a special trash boxes in the grocery stores) and selling back plastic bottles to the stores (each type of plastic bottle has its own price up to 0,32 Euro cents which you can accumulate and spend later to purchase products). In Norway, used or broken electronics can be delivered to any electronic stores (from batteries to refrigerators); you can also donate your

old or “out of fashion” clothes to Frelses Armeen (Salvatory Army) – their containers can find on the parking lots besides grocery stores. At the same place you can find containers for metals and glass (cans, bottles, jars etc). In addition, many people would love to use a chance to ride bike rather than a car, and you won’t find trash in the streets, not because someone is continuously cleaning, but because people don’t litter.

As a result, people drink tasty tap water, enjoy incredible clean-views, breath with fresh air and have an excellent health, which ends up in being recognized as one of the happiest nations in the world.

Now I can hear some of you saying, it’s because this country is very rich with oil, and people have less economical and political problems than others. Yes, of cource it’s true and should be taken into account, but let’s be honest with ourselves at least once…it’s not always about wealth, it’s about moral values and discipline, and willness to live a valued life.

Written by: Anastasiia Savchenko

I agree that morals, discipline and the existence of guidelines helps put things in order but, in my experience, no matter how good your intentions, are people struggling with poverty always live in dirtier places and could care less about recycling...

Clara, you`re right. But from my point of view, there is another side of this problem. When people who grew up in poverty and didn’t care about surrounding become rich and will live posh lives, they might still stick with the same habits of total careless. That’s why I think, no matter how rich or poor people are, they need to be aware of recycling and energy sustainability. What do you think?

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The Road to KL

Reaction of Clara:

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Join the discussion at the NRG Blog where global Talents come together to talk about the future of energy.

Overview BATTLES 2012

NRG Battle – Europe EditionThe International NRG Battle is a yearly recurring event. During a year

there are preliminary rounds held nationwide. Each annual edition will

end with a final during the Energy Delta Convention in Groningen.

NRG Battle 2012:Preliminary round 1: 9th of March

Preliminary round 2: 25th of May

Preliminary round 3: 12th of October

Finals: 21th of November

Cases are provided by renowned companies in the Energy sector, for

example GasTerra, Siemens, E.ON and Grontmij. Topics to be discussed are

amongst others: solar energy, transport, bio-based energy, law, sustainable

energy, policy and communication, storage and autarkic energy.

At the end of the day each team will present their solution to an expert

jury of CEO’s of renowned companies. This jury will select the winners

based on three criteria; utility, non-obvious of character and novelty.

After each round five teams will proceed to the final. They have a chance

to win their own broadcast on National Geographic Channel.

www.nrgbattle.nl

Where students meet, compete...

The NRG Battle – World Edition is a competition organized during the

World Gas Conference in Kuala Lumpur where 100 global top

talents work, for four days in multidisciplinary teams of five, on

challenging cases provided by companies. At the end of the four days,

each team presents their idea in a 3-minute pitch to an expert jury,

consisting of CEO’s and Directors from the energy sector. The jury

nominates three teams that will pitch their idea once more to 5000

delegates at the World Gas Conference, who will then choose the

winner of the NRG Battle - World edition.

www.nrgbattle.com

NRG Battle – World Edition 4 - 8 June 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

International Health BattleThe International Health Battle is gaining a prominent place in our

innovative health sector. Prime Minister Mark Rutte already presented

the Health Innovation Award in a previous battle and this year the

talents will work on cases with subjects like Life Sciences, Food &

Nutrition, Medical Technology, E-Health en Healthy Lifestyle. Are you

ready to innovate as well? Sign up now!

Health Battle 2011:Finals: 15th of March (2012)

Health Battle 2012:Preliminary round 1: 11th of May

Preliminary round 2: 7th of December

International Finance BattleAre you a Bachelor/Master student and interested in a career in the

Finance sector? This is your chance! Register for the Finance Battle

2011. The Finance Battle will be held at the Duisenberg School of

Finance in Amsterdam.

Finance Battle 2012:Preliminary round: 9th of November

You will be competing in multidisciplinary teams and work on cases like derivatives trading, finance &

sustainability, retirement management of financial logistics. At the end of the day each team presents

their innovative solution in a pitch. Participation is free of charge and it is your chance to get in contact

with big names in the industry.

Will you be the most talented student in the next round of the Finance Battle? Sign up and win a

scholarship worth €26.000,- offered by Duisenberg School of Finance. The Prize for the winning team is

a masterclass offered by Duisenberg School of Finance.

www.healthbattle.nl

www.financebattle.nl

...and innovate

How do you become a basketball star? By training hard. It takes blood, sweat, tears, and 100% concentration. You’ve got to be truly dedicated to the game. But at the end of the day, it’s not just about you. It’s the team that really matters.

GasTerra shares this attitude. In order to help realise a sustainable society, we seek the best possible balance between all available sources of energy. And time and time again, natural gas has played a key role in finding this balance. We are therefore part of the solution.

www.iampartofthesolution.nl

Jason DourisseauMost Valuable Player 2010-2011 for the GasTerra Flames


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