TNO takes over ECN activities

TNO is taking over two activities from the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN). This was settled in an agreement between the two knowledge institutes in early April. The activities are ‘Energy in the Built Environment’ and ‘Intelligent Electricity Grids’.

TNO will integrate the activities in its own Built Environment and Energy programmes. This strategic combination of knowledge and expertise strengthens TNO’s position in the national and international knowledge infrastructure in these fields considerably. The transfer also fits with ECN’s new programme strategy, in which ECN focuses on those core activities in which it holds a strong national and international position: wind energy, solar energy, biomass, sustainable process and heat technology and policy studies.

As part of the agreement, 16 ECN staff members will transfer to TNO. The transfer of both research programmes to TNO guarantees that the knowledge and technologies developed by ECN will remain available to Dutch and international society for the development of sustainable buildings and the future energy infrastructure.

Smart Grids
Intelligent electricity grids, or ‘smart grids’, are essential to cope flexible and reliable with the increasingly dynamic suppliers and customers of energy, and in particular sustainable energy. The transition to sustainable energy is complex. Energy from wind, sun, biomass or micro combined heat and power (micro CHP), for example, is passed on to the grid from various points and at irregular intervals. This, alongside new developments such as the charging of electric cars, places high demands on the grids. Moreover, all these developments are moving at different speeds and they are to a degree interdependent. This forces the government and industry to find far-reaching innovations for the energy grids and the complete energy supply chain. The combination of ECN and TNO’s knowledge of smart grids is the combination of two strengths: TNO’s knowledge of ICT and new telecom concepts and ECN’s knowledge of electricity grids and software that is familiar to the market, namely the PowerMatcher. This will allow the matching of supply and demand of electricity more efficiently. Devices in the grid that use this intelligent software can automatically respond to electricity supply and demand fluctuations. The result is that more sustainable energy can be adsorbed in the system without problems occurring.

Energy in the Built Environment
TNO and ECN have cooperated on Energy in the Built Environment for some years now. This theme will continue to be important in the coming years. The built environment is good for some 30% of total energy consumption in the Netherlands. A significant energy reduction in the built environment is essential to ensure compliance with the international CO2 emissions agreements (at least 10% during the coming 5 years). TNO wants to play a significant role in this issue at the European level alongside a leading role at the national level.

About TNO
TNO is an independent innovation organisation. We bring together people and knowledge to create innovations that make businesses more competitive and contribute to a sustainable and healthy society. More than 4300 TNO professionals develop applied knowledge and solutions for global scarcity problems. TNO focuses on seven themes, one of which is Energy in the Built Environment. Energy: contribute to the long term availability of energy through innovations in more efficient energy use and storage and sustainable energy resources. Built Environment: develop transitions and innovations that contribute to a sustainable built environment and design open spaces to facilitate a comfortable existence in a highly populated country.

About ECN
The Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) is the largest energy research institute in the Netherlands and has a strong international position. ECN focuses its research on sustainable energy generation to develop safe, efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly energy systems. ECN is commissioned by the government and businesses to develop knowledge and technologies and to market these. Special attention is paid to reducing energy demand through energy efficiency, energy generation using sustainable resources and efficient and clean use of fossil fuels (the so-called ‘trias energetica’). ECN also conducts research on future opportunities and economic backgrounds related to energy.

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Note for the editors
For more information, please contact Maarten Lörtzer at TNO Media Relations, +31 (0)888 660 888, pressinfo@remove-this-part-tno.nl,
or Florentine de Maar, ECN public relations officer, +31 (0)224 564 050, demaar@remove-this-part-ecn.nl.

 

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