IO’s week – The grid dilemma: options galore, but laws and habits are blocking the road

We’re exactly halfway through our?12-part series?about potential solutions to the high peak loads on the electricity grid, but already it’s clear that there’s no lack of solutions. In fact, the report commissioned by the Dutch Topsector Energie program offered more than 100 of them, all focusing on maximizing the capacity of the existing or upcoming electricity network to accelerate the energy transition. No, it’s our behavior (why not share what’s too much?), it’s the law (why aren’t we allowed to resell the electricity that we harvest?), and it’s the infrastructure (we want more power lines! We want them thicker!).

In last week’s?episode, this became all the more obvious, also for Albert Jan. We’re not yet sure that his solution is sustainable, but to be honest: we’ve seen it happen on a small scale. When your neighbors are able to harvest from the wind or the sun, and you are not… well, why not create a smart connection between them and you?

Everybody knows that policymakers are always dragging behind the realities of everyday life, but especially when every well-thinking person can see that the law should be there to help society, this can become a bit frustrating. Hopefully, the political support on a national and European level will grow in the next months and years. In the meantime, let’s explore the space on a local level as well.?Hey neighbor, need some energy? Special price for you!

Here’s what else struck us this week:

• Bye mum, I’m visiting Uncle Wim on Asteroid-136. See you next week!?(Elcke’s third what if… column)
• High Tech Campus Eindhoven opens itself to the Metaverse with 3EALITY
• The Dutch high-tech and manufacturing industry is not without worries but is still able to generate “a handful of new ASMLs” by 2040
• Are cheap Chinese EVs driving the energy revolution?
• Breaking free: Europe’s options for energy independence by 2040
• Belgium spearheads Europe’s green energy revolution with North Sea island
• The groundbreaking wind-solar system that can do it all: meet Soleolico’s innovative power solution
• Want to make buildings more sustainable? Give them a brain!
• A pioneering robot that sets a new standard in microsurgery
• Haermonics launches its device to prevent heart surgery complications
• Farmers can make better use of nitrogen
• Carbyon’s challenge is not the technology of carbon capturing, it’s the business
• Cheap gasoline instead of sustainable growth projects: we’re squandering our future for temporary political gain

And here?you can find the rest of the articles we wrote last week. Have a nice, sunny week!

Bart Brouwers,

Innovation Origins

PS: we’re working on the second edition of our magazine IO NEXT. It’s all about our brains.?Don’t forget to subscribe. In the meantime, enjoy our free first copy.