H2 impact makers: Gerard Smeden, programme leader of the Ideation Lab Impact Studio

What inspired you to start this hydrogen project and what motivates you to continue?

“There is astounding research with enormous potential for societal and economic impact taking place at universities. However, so far, only a small proportion of these innovations have come to market and entered society. There are a variety of reasons for this, including scientists’ full research agendas and the required entrepreneurial and market research expertise which researchers don’t always possess.

Simultaneously, there is a large pool of passionate students who want to get a taster of entrepreneurship and are extremely interested in helping valorise these technologies. Until recently, researchers and enterprising students were only incidentally brought together. Ideation Labs has created a structured programme to achieve this, allowing both worlds to be much more efficiently utilised.

So far, we have held one Ideation Lab in Delft on the subject of hydrogen and electrochemistry. The enthusiasm from the ecosystem – researchers, students and tech transfer offices – in Delft, but also in the rest of the country, proves we have created something uniquely valuable. We are going to increase our impact and share our knowledge with other universities (of applied science) by rolling out a multi-year, national programme over the coming period.”

Which challenges did you encounter and how did you overcome the latter?

“Sometimes, it is challenging just to find and involve the right innovations. Not because there is a shortage, but because they are often still merely ideas in researchers’ minds or draft publications. In many cases no patent application has yet been made which means these innovations don’t appear on the universities’ radar through the official channels. We can share our story by actively engaging people at events organised by GroenvermogenNL and other hydrogen meetings. The fact that the initial results are very positive helps enormously, ensuring word of mouth advertising within the network. Researchers now also know how to find us.”

What is this project’s biggest contribution to the transition to a sustainable hydrogen economy?

“The best way to achieve the energy transition, in my opinion, is through entrepreneurship, on the basis of opportunities instead of obligations. Working on smart, efficient systems that are globally competitive, we can utilise the Netherlands’ energy transition as an economic opportunity. Hydrogen and electrochemistry are often viewed as deep tech entailing long development processes which, to start with, primarily require investment. Ideation Labs helps identify promising innovations and applications early on. This enables development budgets to be utilised more efficiently whilst making the most of synergies between innovations and organisations. Furthermore, it is crucial for the right entrepreneurs to start working with these new concepts. Constant scouting and training provides Ideation Labs with a talent pool. You can view Ideation Labs as a catalyst for innovation: it helps find and validate valuable scientific findings made at knowledge institutions for the market, allowing funding to be used more effectively.”

Which support or cooperation played a crucial role in your project’s success?

“GroenvermogenNL was of crucial importance to the development of the ‘Ideation Labs’ concept. They were the first Nationaal Groeifonds [National Growth Fund] programme to collaborate with us and co-financed our second cohort. They have since been joined by other Nationaal Groeifonds programmes. GroenvermogenNL currently once more plays a pioneering role in enabling our first national multi-year programme which aims to scale things up even further. The H2Platform, a cooperation led by Business Development Manager Peter Lucas of TU Delft, has also been important. Peter actively contributes to bringing researchers and companies together, and offers Ideation Labs a platform. This helps our entrepreneurs find the right partners and knowledge to aid continued development and pilots. Finally, the 4TU Federatie plays a major role. This collaboration between the four universities of technology (TU Delft, TU Eindhoven, University of Twente and Wageningen University & Research) enables the rapid switching and incorporation of the programme into strategic agendas. Starting from scratch with four universities makes it easier for us to sign up new partners. 12 knowledge institutions are currently involved in GroenvermogenNL’s Ideation Labs plan.”

How do you see the future of hydrogen and what do you hope your project can do for its development?

“Hydrogen and other chemical energy bearers will play an important role in making industry more sustainable. Over the coming decades we will find out which energy bearer suits which application best. I believe Ideation Labs can help identify these fields of application and ensure the required innovations are actually applied. I hope this plays out on a global scale driven by Dutch start-ups and scale-ups.”

More information about the ideation lab can be found in the video below and on the project page; this project received €595,500 in funding.