Sunday 9 September 2018

Plans for new clean energy R&D campus at Twente Airport

Plans to build a new clean energy research and development (R&D) campus at Twente Airport in the Netherlands have been unveiled.

Energy management firm Lithium Werks, which supplies battery cells in 50 countries, said the facility will span over 42 acres, with the first building at Technology Base scheduled for completion by the end of 2019.

The company expects to initially create 300 jobs to research new technologies in the field of clean energy and recruit around 2,000 people within five years.

It is receiving financial support from the East Netherlands Development Agency Oost, together with the municipality of Enschede and the province of Overijssel.

Kees Koolen, Chairman of the Board at Lithium Werks said: “Renewable energy sources, such as wind and sun, often produce the most energy at times when demand is low. This mismatch between supply and demand means it is still necessary to have conventional coal or gas power stations.

“With smart energy storage and transport solutions, the energy will be available at the right time and place. This will require both sufficient battery capacity – we need to produce many more batteries – and artificial intelligence software.”