Energy technology in Twente

Countries all over the world have set themselves the goal of combating climate change and becoming less dependent on the limited supply of fossil fuels. The Netherlands also wants to emit 49& less CO2 by 2030. Twente contributes to these goals by doing fundamental research into the creation of robust and efficient local energy systems. The energy transition is also creating many job opportunities in Twente.

Solar panels, water pumps, wind turbines: the media shows them every day. The transition requires large investments from property owners and society. Investments that give Twente, as a manufacturing region, an above average profit. Take hydrogen, for example, which more and more people see as the fuel of the future. The Netherlands has just a handful of places where you can get hydrogen, because regular cars are not yet using this fuel. Several parties in Twente want to change this, though. The University of Twente and Saxion University of Applied Sciences have been working on the most efficient hydrogen-fuelled car possible for years, for example. Green Team Twente, the multidisciplinary student team, even won the prestigious Shell Eco Marathon in 2019. In Almelo, they are working hard on the Hydrogen Hub Twente.

Hengelo also has big plans. Entrepreneur Kees Koolen is developing The Green Box; a campus with fifteen companies in the field of clean energy, located on the former Eaton site. Twente seems seriously on its way to becoming an (inter)national hotspot for energy transition with these and other initiatives, such as the Green Energy Garden.