Blog of Prof. dr. Ad van Wijk (TUDelft)
A big step in the development of the Green Village, the high-tech testing grounds at the Delft University of technology. The first two containers have arrived; many more will follow in the months and years to come!
Find the presentation held today regarding the official opening of these first building blocks.
Update february 8, 2013
Hereby also a short (4 minutes) videoclip of this presentation:
UPDATE: I’ve also been named the #1 forecast in a special report by the World Future Society.
Every year The Futurist magazine publishes its Outlook report, with ten thought-provoking forecasts that will change the world. In the past, they have pinpointed among others the emergence of the Internet and the financial crisis, all years before they became common-place.
I’m proud to sat they have placed me on their #2 spot, with my ideas regarding the future of cars and they pivotal role I foresee them playing in the generation of electricity. You can check out their article with the top 10 Forecasts for 2013 and Beyond, or watch the video below (the segment begins at 2:35):
In een interview op BNR radio zet ik uit een dat de fiscale stimuleren van duurzame energie en energiebesparing een goed begin is, maar zeker niet genoeg. Om in Nederland echt verder te gaan met duurzame energie, zal de wetgeving zelf aangepast moeten worden.
Lees een bericht hierover bij BNR.
In een speciale bijlage geven vele experts, waaronder ik, hun mening hoe de stad van de toekomst er uit kan komen te zien. Er is momenteel al zo veel technologie beschikbaar om ons leven te verduurzamen. Maar in de bebouwde omgeving, met de hoge dichtheid van mensen, woningen, en diensten, vergt dit een extra inspanning.
Lees in de bijlage (pdf) over duurzaam renoveren, maar ook het verduurzaamde energiesysteem dat gebruik maakt van auto’s voor de productie.
That the life of a university professor continues beyond the lecture halls is hardly a surprise. That it would take me to Vestrock (a rock festival in the Netherlands) was even beyond my imagination!
Besides music, Vestrock also focuses on sustainability. This is visible in many aspects, such as the generation of sustainable energy on the festival location, the separate collection of different types of garbage, etc. But they also instigated Vestrock University, in which they asked (among others) me to give some insights.
The full video can be seen right here:
The lecture I gave in Abu Dhabi, at the IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) has just been made publically available. It can be viewed via Facebook here, or integrally the video at the IRENA website.
It was my absolute pleasure to speak before the IRENA (Internation Renewable Energy Agency) in Abu Dhabi. The IRENA a UN-sanctioned institute that is dedicated to the research of sustainable energy and the proliferation of renewables in general.
As part of my visit, a gave a lecture on ‘Future Energy Systems’ to the IRENA scholars at the Masdar Institute. The lecture as a whole has not yet been made available at the IRENA website, but should be downloadable in the foreseeable future.
For an impression of the lecture and surroundings, check out these pictures:
A first, being interviewed by fossil fuel conglomerate Shell! They were kind enough to include me in an issue of their in-house magazine (called ‘Shell Venster’) which was dedicated to the future of energy.
In the interview I discuss the utter inefficiency of many everyday activities such as boiling an egg or driving a car, as well as the role I see of natural gas as a transition fuel. I conclude to state that sustainable energy does not need governmental subsidies, only a level playing field.
Read the interview online (Dutch only), or on the Shell website.
Several experts were asked for their opinion on the changes to the A12 highway in the center of the Netherlands. Find below my contribution to the discussion (starting at 2:03, also available directly on YouTube), in which I stipulate that cooperation is a necessity to fruitfully develop the region:
It was my pleasure to see the enthusiasm and vigor of the next generation of free thinkers and entrepreneurs as part of the ‘Future Leaders 2012’ event organized by the national Dutch organisation for CSR, MVO Nederland.
As part of the expert jury, I saw several great ideas from young professionals (up to 35 years old). It was also great to see that the wife of the Dutch crown prince, HKH Máxima was so interested in sustainability. More than that, she asked some critical questions that showed she knew what she was talking about!
The presentations, photo’s and press coverage of the day can be found at the site of MVO Nederland. Below are several pictures of the day to get a feeling of the atmosphere.