EnergyVille signs commitment statement to help find solutions for energy transition in Flanders
On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Flux50, the energy spearhead cluster in Flanders, some 40 CEOs from the government and industry signed a joint declaration of commitment to continue working in the coming years on innovative solutions for energy transition in Flanders. EnergyVille also signed this declaration.
Strategic headlines
On the occasion of the anniversary, CEOs of Flux50 members confirmed the new strategic outlines, with the support of Flemish Minister of Economy and Innovation Hilde Crevits:
“The 5th anniversary of the spearhead cluster Flux50 is characterised by boundless ambition for the development of Flanders as a smart, sustainable energy region. State-of-the-art research facilities and cooperation initiatives have sprung up all over Flanders, including EnergyVille in Limburg and the Smart Village Lab in Brussels. Now that the foundations have been laid, we can focus in a straight line on realising breakthroughs with a focus on renovation, affordability and hydrogen. Cooperation between the research field and industry is the key to success here.”
Some of the more than 80 innovative energy projects include: ‘Sailing Heat’ (transporting industrial residual heat by ship to new customers such as heat networks), ‘Cordoba’ (optimising electricity flows from offshore and interconnections), ‘the Social Energy Leap’ (replicable, affordable and fast renovation of social housing) and ‘COOCK CEMS’ (supporting the roll-out of residential energy control systems to make the digital meter smart and families more energy conscious).
Flux50 is guided by an integrated approach to the energy system adopted by Europe. In the coming years, this strategy will be adapted to the new challenges with Flemish innovation and converted into concrete impact. This strategy follows the logic of the energy system:
- first focus on energy efficiency and circularity,
- advanced electrification based on renewable energy sources,
- in sectors that are difficult to decarbonise, stimulating renewable and low-carbon fuels, including hydrogen.
In the coming years, Flux50 and its 200 members, including EnergyVille, will focus on:
- tripling the current renovation rate through integrated renovation concepts, among other things
- making the heating and cooling supply more sustainable, which accounts for more than 50% of energy consumption, by optimising the use of heat pumps and flexible heat networks
- an affordable integration of renewable energy in districts and energy communities in close cooperation with cities and municipalities
- Flemish ports as international energy hubs, with VLAIO-supported Flux50 feasibility studies such as the Hydrogen Import Study showing that the import of sustainable molecules will become one of the crucial pillars of our economy.
