MAGNETO is a Dutch company specialized in the development, production and sale of anodes for the electrochemical industry. Each are key components for the future Hydrogen Economy. Today, Matti van Schooneveld (Business Development Manager Green Hydrogen at MAGNETO) takes us through the future plans for the company and how collaborating with ISPT in HyScaling has led to new insights on the energy transition.
The HyScaling consortium brings an inspiring set of solutions to the table
Matti van Schooneveld
Why do you think it is important for Magneto to contribute to the energy transition?
“It has become abundantly clear that we must drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. We have to put a brake on the increased extreme weather conditions, which are (statistically proven) caused by the greenhouse effect. The enormous social and financial costs related to this problem are worrying enough, but my personal motivation is to limit the effects human health and wellbeing around the globe. Additionally, I like to help build new technologies for the Netherlands that both promote employment and reduce energy dependence on third parties.”
What does the energy transition need right now, according to you?
“There are several challenges, but in my opinion we need more concrete guidance from the national government to solve certain problems. For example on how to improve the sustainability of the homes of people who are already struggling to make ends meet. With a one-time €800 supplement you’re not able to seriously insulate your house. Municipalities do have local subsidies that attempt to provide for this, but these differ greatly in amount and effectiveness. It would be wise for the national government to take a more stringent approach and to provide resources to enforce a minimum insulation requirement for existing homes.”
“After all, the costs now being incurred by the state in the form of nationwide one-time premiums to combat energy poverty are also provided by taxpayers. I would have preferred that this money had been allocated 10 years ago to make sustainability possible structurally and across the country. This is just one example, there are similar preventive choices that we need to make now rather than trying to fix in a few years. Structural state investments (and therefore no funds after the fact) also provide jobs, innovation and new technologies for the Netherlands.”
What is currently the biggest opportunity for innovations in the energy transition?
“In the field of electrolysers, there is still a lot to gain in terms of circular production. This is an opportunity I believe that we should already be working on intensively.
In general, I would also like to make a plea for accelerated implementation of alternative heat generation and storage techniques. Wind and solar power are mainstream, the electric car is on the rise, and green hydrogen is getting a lot of attention. Let’s also take serious steps in the development of new technologies for heat storage, for example in basalt, linked to heat networks. There is still a great opportunity there to apply new technologies and contribute to the energy transition.”
Tell us about your partnership with ISPT
“I enjoy working with ISPT and the HyScaling partners. It is a very dynamic group of companies and people. The other partners are pleasant to work with. I have seen many unique selling points for Dutch technology at the various companies. It is an inspiring set of solutions that we are bringing to the table and there are still many interesting opportunities to explore. I would like to encourage everyone to continue the good work towards a sustainable and strong future.”
What is your dream?
“Today, electrodes for green hydrogen only represent a few percentages of our total business. I want to see this increase to the most important component by 2030. MAGNETO will largely produce electrodes by then that are not based on the earth’s most scarce metals such as platinum and rutene. Our production is court-supplied to a large number of Europose electrolyser OEMs. We have therefore introduced as many circular electrodes as possible. That is the dream we are working on every day at MAGNETO.”
Our partners are of great value for our open innovation platform. In this series we proudly introduce some of them to you with a short interview about collaboration in the energy transition.
Want to learn more on/join our HyScaling project? Contact Carol Xiao.
Acknowledgement
This project is co-funded with subsidy from the Topsector Energy by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.