Techport network out of the starting blocks 'towards the Netherlands' first green industrial zone'
On Wednesday, Sept. 20, the Techport kick-off meeting "Towards the Netherlands' first green industrial zone" was held at Tata Academy in Velsen Noord.
To a well-filled room, Techport program director Henno van Horssen explained the ambitions for the coming years and how the Techport network will act together in this. These include a strong focus on innovation and striving for the best educated workforce in the country.
Presentation of Just Transition Fund cheques to innovative projects
Concrete steps toward that green future are being made by the first four projects that have received an award from the Just Transition Fund, a European fund that aims to enable regions heavily dependent on income and employment from fossil fuels to enter the energy transition in a fair and equal manner.
The four projects that received a symbolic check from the aldermen of Velsen, Beverwijk and Heemskerk were:
Infinity with the Smart & Healthy Buildings Platform project - a project to make large buildings more energy efficient.
H2Dock with a concept modular housing of electrolysers and balance of plant - a project that aims to transport offshore wind energy not as electricity to land, but as hydrogen, by electrolyzing water at sea.
The Symphony Wave Power Project - an innovation that converts pressure differences in wave power into renewable energy.
The Techport Innovation Centre's Green Incubator - a project that helps students, entrepreneurs and startups with capacity and knowledge to make strides in (green) innovation.
Good ideas wanted
Vera van Vuuren, project leader of the Just Transition Fund IJmond, congratulated the projects and expressed the hope that many more will follow. Therefore, she calls on entrepreneurs and organizations to send in ideas in the coming period to help further the energy transition in the region.
Check the website for more information: https://www.odijmond.nl/projecten/just-transition-fund-ijmond/
Decisiveness
Mark Denys, president of Techport, closed the afternoon with a call to work together above all else. "'Away with fossil' is the right direction," he said. "A direction we all need to move in. What we need for that is a movement. And the will to change. And the dream of a better, greener world.
'The First Green Industrial Zone' is our dream. But just as important is the 'Together on the road.' We move forward by starting the movement together. Less thinking, more action. That is also Techport's role as a public-private partnership: mobilizing decisiveness."
Photo: Techport / Fjodor C. Buis