On Wednesday 12 June, the EnTranCe energy testing ground at Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen will be home for the fifth year running to the TransFuture Festival, which is all about new forms of energy. The diverse programme includes lectures and workshops as well as an innovation market where businesses, government bodies and knowledge institutes demonstrate their activities to address the issue of new energy. In addition, the festival will see the first public drive of the solar car by the Top Dutch Solar Racing Team on their way to Australia.
In the decades ahead, our energy supply will undergo drastic changes. This topic has long been high on the agenda in the northern Netherlands, which is leading the energy transition for a good reason. The TransFuture Festival will unite the region in exhibiting the latest innovations and developments in the field of sustainable energy.
If you have any suitable ideas for the TransFuture Festival and want to be part of this anniversary edition, please contact the project leader, Margreet van der Velde: m.van.der.velde@pl.hanze.nl.
Professionals, entrepreneurs, businesses, government bodies, students and everyone else who takes an interest in sustainable energy and innovation are welcome at the TransFuture Festival. There will be plenty of opportunities to network and exchange knowledge over drinks or a bite to eat.
Programme TransFuture Festival
Opening festival: 12.00 – 21.00
0.00 PM – 5.00 PM | Top Dutch Solar Racing expo
For the day’s duration, the Top Dutch Solar Racing office will be transformed into a lively exhibition. In October 2019, this team of students will make its debut in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, a 3,000-km race across the Australian outback. The students will take part in this race using a solar car that they built themselves. This team is also working on other projects. During the TransFuture Festival, visitors will be offered a peak behind the curtain of this pioneering organisation. The small office will feature exhibits on technology, challenges and team-building.
6:00 PM | Unveiling of the solar car
Top Dutch Solar Racing is proud to present the first solar car built in the northern Netherlands. After months of hard work on their pride and joy, the students are ready to show off the solar car to the public for the first time. It promises to be an exciting moment that the team wants to share with its invaluable partners, loyal supporters and interested fans.
0.00 PM – 5.00 PM | Innovation Market
This business-to-business market will showcase a number of innovative ideas and products. It will be a great opportunity to become familiar with new businesses as well as to meet sector peers and students who specialise in energy challenges. This year, exhibitors will include Paddepoel Energiek, CirculairActief, H2planet Netherlands and Stercore.
0.15 – 1.15 PM | Barn Talk: Manon Janssen, chair of the Energy Top
This anniversary edition of the TransFuture Festival’s Barn Talk will be given by Manon Janssen, figurehead of the Energy Top Sector. She served as chair of the Industry sector platform during the climate agreement negotiations with other climate platforms
1.30 – 3.00 PM | Energy Lecture: Dutch Climate Agreement met Manon Janssen
Following her Barn Talk, Manon Janssen will give a lecture on the climate agreement to Hanze UAS and University of Groningen students. During the lecture, she will examine the provisions of the climate agreement in more detail and enter into a discussion with students about how to build a sustainable society. Please note that the lecture will be given in English. Click here to register straight away.
1.30 – 4.30 PM | Turning the N33 into the most sustainable road in the Netherlands – by BuildinG
At the festival, the BuildinG innovation centre will kick off its ambitious ‘Route N33 Midden’ project. The construction of a dual carriageway along the N33 trunk road between Zuidbroek and Appingedam is of the essence in improving access to the Eemsdelta region. What knowledge is already available, and how can we develop new initiatives in the fields of infrastructure and energy? How can we involve the region in the N33 construction work? In cooperation with the province of Groningen, the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat), and a number of local authorities, BuildinG is inviting everyone to join in the discussion on 12 June. Be sure to register! Click here for more information.
1.30 – 3.30 PM | Symposium Hydrogreenn
Hydrogreenn is an informal platform set up by businesses and organisations from the northern Netherlands that are involved in the energy transition, specifically towards hydrogen. At the moment, five specific projects are under way in the provinces of Drenthe and Groningen:
Hydrogen district in Hoogeveen
Industrial scaling up of GZI next in Emmen
Industrial application at the chemical park in Delfzijl
HydroHub at EnTranCe
Green Hydrogen Booster at EnTranCe
Hydrogreenn’s members will join the festival for a number of brief pitches to explain the various projects. Afterwards, there will be an opportunity for businesses to get in touch with the project groups.
3.00 – 4.00 PM | Making your district gas-free! By the municipality of Groningen
Throughout the festival, experts from various organisations will exchange ideas with the public on how to help businesses and private residences transition away from natural gas. Which districts will go first? Who will pay the bill? And how can we tackle this physical and societal challenge together? The municipality of Groningen aims to be CO2-neutral by 2035.
3.15 – 5.15 PM | Final symposium: living lab Energy Transition
More than 65 students will present the results of the assignments and research projects that they completed in the living lab Energy Transition over the past six months. This way, stakeholders, lecturers and other interested parties will gain a clear idea of what kind of assignments the students work on in the living lab. A special jury will award prizes for the semester’s best poster and pitch.
7.00 – 8.00 PM | Public debate hosted by the municipality of Groningen in the EnergyBarn
What will the climate agreement mean for Groningen? How can we help businesses and private residences transition away from natural gas by 2035?
We will discuss these questions by examining three key challenges:
- Which districts will become gas-free first?
The climate agreement proposes to start with ‘easy’ districts and villages, where homeowners have the means to invest in their homes. - Who will pay the bill?
Finding the funds to achieve the ambition of making businesses and private residences gas-free by 2035. - The energy transition is unnecessary
Now that the energy transition has risen to the top of the political agenda, opponents and climate change deniers have become increasingly vocal, both in the realm of politics and outside it. Whereas America has President Trump, the Netherlands has Baudet – and both can count on a large following. How did this opposition come into being?
The programme for this anniversary edition of the TransFuture Festival is still under development. For this reason, we are working closely with the various partners that will make substantial contributions on the day.
To keep up with the latest developments regarding the festival, keep an eye on our website, which will feature regular updates to the TransFuture Festival programme.
The previous edition of the TransFuture Festival saw a special version of the Barn Talks on Midsummer Eve, featuring former leader of the Dutch Labour party Diederik Samsom.
