The municipality of Apeldoorn had polled the interest among its private home-owners to turn their homes energy neutral. Based on the enthusiastic response, Apeldoorn saw the launch of the Energy Apeldoorn (#ENEXAP) in 2011. Its goal was to convert to it technically and financially possible for privately owned homes to be refurbished and to energy neutral, taking the residential needs and wishes from occupants as the starting point. The project was called an Expedition, because although the goal was clear, the road to get there wasn’t. The Expedition team comprised businesses, civil-society organisations, the local university of applied sciences, the municipality of Apeldoorn, and of course, residents in a central role. The project was supported by Platform31, as part of the Dutch government’s Energy Leap programme. The #ENEXAP involved 38 homes, spread out through Apeldoorn and surrounding villages. Even though the houses were very diverse, the group of residents was quite similar: mostly middle- aged, affluent people who highly value the environment and sustainability. An important aspect of the project was the independent and active role residents played. In collaboration with businesses and professionals, through meetings, excursions, workshops and by filling in a step- by-step plan on the website, the residents gathered information about their personal situation, the energy performance of their home and the possibilities available for them to save and generate energy themselves. Businesses were encouraged to develop an integrated approach for home-owners, and consortia were set up by businesses to develop the strategy, products and services needed to meet this demand. On top of making minimal twenty from the thirty-eight houses in the project energy neutral, the ultimate goal was to boost the local demand for energy- neutral refurbishment and encourage an appropriate supply of services, opening up the (local) market for energy neutral refurbishment. This paper will reflect on the outcomes of this collective in the period 2011-2015.
Lectorale redeboekje naar aanleiding van de intrede in het lectoraat Systeemintegratie in de energietransitie
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During the opening of the Hanze Energy Transition Centre or EnTranCe (2015-10-13) posters were on display for the King and for the public. During the opening these posters where accompanied by the researchers to explain their research in more detail if questions did arise.
Due to the existing pressure for a more rational use of the water, many public managers and industries have to re-think/adapt their processes towards a more circular approach. Such pressure is even more critical in the Rio Doce region, Minas Gerais, due to the large environmental accident occurred in 2015. Cenibra (pulp mill) is an example of such industries due to the fact that it is situated in the river basin and that it has a water demanding process. The current proposal is meant as an academic and engineering study to propose possible solutions to decrease the total water consumption of the mill and, thus, decrease the total stress on the Rio Doce basin. The work will be divided in three working packages, namely: (i) evaluation (modelling) of the mill process and water balance (ii) application and operation of a pilot scale wastewater treatment plant (iii) analysis of the impacts caused by the improvement of the process. The second work package will also be conducted (in parallel) with a lab scale setup in The Netherlands to allow fast adjustments and broaden evaluation of the setup/process performance. The actions will focus on reducing the mill total water consumption in 20%.
Synthetic ultra-black (UB) materials, which demonstrate exceptionally high absorbance (>99%) of visible light incident on their surface, are currently used as coatings in photovoltaic cells and numerous other applications. Most commercially available UB coatings are based on an array of carbon nanotubes, which are produced at relatively high temperature and result in numerous by-products. In addition, UB nanotube coatings require harsh application conditions and are very susceptible to abrasion. As a result, these coatings are currently obtained using a manufacturing process with relatively high costs, high energy consumption and low sustainability. Interestingly, an UB coating based on a biologically derived pigment could provide a cheaper and more sustainable alternative. Specifically, GLO Biotics proposes to create UB pigment by taking a bio-mimetic approach and replicate structures found in UB deep-sea fish. A recent study[1] has actually shown that specific fish have melanosomes in their skin with particular dimensions that allow absorption of up to 99.9% of incident light. In addition to this, recent advances in bacterial engineering have demonstrated that it is possible to create bacteria-derived melanin particles with very similar dimensions to the melanosomes in aforementioned fish. During this project, the consortium partners will combine both scientific observations in an attempt to provide the proof-of-concept for developing an ultra-black coating using bacteria-derived melanin particles as bio-based, sustainable pigment. For this, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences (Zuyd) and Maastricht University (UM) collaborate with GLO Biotics in the development of the innovative ‘BLACKTERIA’ UB coating technology. The partners will attempt at engineering an E. coli expression system and adapt its growth in order to produce melanin particles of desired dimensions. In addition, UM will utilize their expertise in industrial coating research to provide input for experimental set-up and the development of a desired UB coating using the bacteria-derived melanin particles as pigment.
In order to achieve much-needed transitions in energy and health, systemic changes are required that are firmly based on the principles of regard for others and community values, while at the same time operating in market conditions. Social entrepreneurship and community entrepreneurship (SCE) hold the promise to catalyze such transitions, as they combine bottom-up social initiatives with a focus on financially viable business models. SCE requires a facilitating ecosystem in order to be able to fully realize its potential. As yet it is unclear in which way the entrepreneurial ecosystem for social and community entrepreneurship facilitates or hinders the flourishing and scaling of such entrepreneurship. It is also unclear how exactly entrepreneurs and stakeholders influence their ecosystem to become more facilitative. This research programme addresses these questions. Conceptually it integrates entrepreneurial ecosystem frameworks with upcoming theories on civic wealth creation, collaborative governance, participative learning and collective action frameworks.This multidisciplinary research project capitalizes on a unique consortium: the Dutch City Deal ‘Impact Ondernemen’. In this collaborative research, we enhance and expand current data collection efforts and adopt a living-lab setting centered on nine local and regional cases for collaborative learning through experimenting with innovative financial and business models. We develop meaningful, participatory design and evaluation methods and state-of-the-art digital tools to increase the effectiveness of impact measurement and management. Educational modules for professionals are developed to boost the abovementioned transition. The project’s learnings on mechanisms and processes can easily be adapted and translated to a broad range of impact areas.
