Following the Paris Climate Agreement and the goals set for the reduction of CO2 emissions, the near future will see a rapid shift away from fossil feedstocks – in fuels as well as chemicals. As a result, we are on the brink of a major restructuring of the energy system. This regards generation and distribution of electrical power on the one hand and the nature of the energy-intensive industry on the other.
In the coming decades, renewable energy production will grow almost beyond comprehension. Already we see massive investment and cost reduction in renewable energy production from solar and wind, replacing gas and coal-fired power plants. At the same time, industry needs to restructure major parts of its key energy-intensive processes to meet emission reduction targets, while maintaining its position in globally competing supply chains. We see here the ingredients for a rather disruptive transition, but we have to make sure that the future energy system is robust and supports all stakeholders: industry, transportation/mobility, and the built environment.
Re-imagining and re-inventing production chains
At the ISPT cluster System Integration, we contribute to the energy transition from the perspective of the process industry. We are convinced that to reach the 2050 targets of up to 95% emission reduction, it is imperative to completely re-imagine and re-invent production chains, tuned to the transitions in the energy system. This is what we call system integration.
The mission of the cluster System Integration is the advancement of key technical options for the energy-intensive process industry that enable the use of renewable energy and are key to new industrial value chains.
This entails identifying and developing the key enabling technologies for carbon-neutral industries, establishing their potential relevance and understanding how they can be implemented in an industrial environment. It also requires an analysis of the context governing this implementation:
- The context of the current industrial environment;
- the context of the future energy system;
- and the context of the envisioned energy-industry value chain.
All this will lay the foundation for technology development towards actual demonstration at industrially relevant scales, in which the SI cluster takes a leading role. A striking example of the latter is in the field of hydrogen, where we operate the Hydrohub Innovation Program to achieve affordable large-scale water electrolysis in an industrial setting.
At the Institute for Sustainable Process Technology, we think the Netherlands can be internationally guiding in developing and reshaping future energy systems. The Netherlands has an exceptionally large industrial sector compared to other countries: industry is responsible for around 40% of the total national energy consumption and the corresponding CO2 emissions. At the same time, a large part of the Dutch industry consists of large international companies operating in a global playing field. The Netherlands has developed an effective ecosystem for industry-oriented innovation that covers industries of all sizes and all sectors. This is reflected in the extensive network of the cluster System Integration.
Projects carried out by the cluster System Integration contribute to the ISPT themes of electrification, hydrogen, and circularity.
Join the cluster
The consortium is open for new participants. For more information please use the contact form below.
