As a physicist I enjoy breaking down big, complex problems into discrete processes with stepwise decision points, giving policy-makers and politicians concrete angles with which they can work.
Expertise: Hydrogen, green gas, biomass | Energy system transition | Energy supply in the built environment
After graduating in Physics and gaining my doctorate with work on solar cells (1995) I took up a post in the energy industry. My activities there included negotiations on energy systems in major urban developments and work as a departmental manager. Since 2007 I’ve had the pleasure of working at CE Delft, first as team leader, ‘Energy in the Urban Environment’, then as team leader, ‘Biomass’, since 2017 as manager, ‘Fuels and Cities’ and since 2019 as manager, ‘Energy & Fuels’ and as team leader, ‘Clean Gases’. The common denominator has always been my passion for applying my know-how and skills to working towards a more sustainable world.
As a physicist I enjoy breaking down big, complex problems into discrete processes with stepwise decision points, giving policy-makers and politicians concrete angles with which they can work. This requires analytical number-crunching, a good ear, know-how, creative thinking and an ability to explain the results of that thinking to others in understandable terms. Apart from that, I simply enjoy working with others and making sure we tap into the best everyone has to offer. On your own you can sometimes make rapid progress, but cooperation takes you further – which is one of the reasons I attach such importance to good relations.
Among the issues closest to my heart is the role to be played in a sustainable world by clean gases like hydrogen and green gas, and how their use is to be organised. This is a complex issue, involving a multitude of players with wide-ranging interests and begging a multitude of policy questions at the local, national and international level given the need to create entirely new value chains, involving demand, infrastructure and production. This requires not only a thorough knowledge of issues of substance, but also focused intent to ensure parties duly collaborate on developing practicable solutions – which means having a policy environment that makes this all possible. These are the issues I’m focusing on with my team.