New energy

TU Delft will celebrate its 180th anniversary on 14 January 2022. One hundred and eighty years of TU Delft means 180 years of research, engineering and innovation; 180 years of innovators and bridge builders; and 180 years of highly educated engineers that have contributed to welfare, development and security in the Netherlands and far beyond. We are extremely proud of our past. It was also a past that was very focused on economic growth and industrial development. While this has undeniably brought much good to society, we are increasingly facing their negative consequences, of which climate change is the most far-reaching.

We take our responsibility for this. We are providing new generations of engineers the knowledge and expertise that they need to address these challenges. Through innovation we focus on concrete solutions and through our research we are working on new understanding that could lead to solutions that are not yet there. This will help us all to look towards a safe and thriving future.

The energy transition is a crucial weapon in the battle against climate change. Only if our energy system is CO₂ neutral by 2050 will we limit the impacts of climate change. However, if things do not speed up, we will not achieve this in 30 years. We need to make haste. Hence, ‘speeding up the energy transition’ is the theme of our anniversary in which we celebrate our active role in the energy transition.

This year’s edition revolves around this theme. Meet 10 researchers that are working on speeding up the energy transition. Professor of Energy Systems Analysis Kornelis Blok shares his future vision and Professor Peter Palensky discusses a platform to test future scenarios, his digital twin of the energy system. Finally, alumnus Mike ten Wolde finds himself at the heart of the energy transition at TenneT. He is just as optimistic as I am about the outcomes. If we all make an effort, we should achieve it.
 

Prof. Tim van der Hagen,
President Executive Board TU Delft