Partners from Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and France involved in the RE-Greenhouse project recently visited the Dutch horticulture cluster. The visit focused on heat networks and the development of a digital tool that will provide insight into the availability of renewable energy. During the programme, participants visited, among other places, GreenTech Amsterdam and Tomatoworld.
RE-Greenhouse is a collaboration between 11 partners from Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg and Germany. The project aims to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy in greenhouse horticulture. One of the key outcomes will be a digital tool that will give entrepreneurs and other stakeholders more up-to-date insight into the local availability of renewable energy.
Visit focused on heat
Knowledge exchange is a key pillar of RE-Greenhouse, which runs until the end of 2027. As part of the project, partners regularly visit pilot installations where renewable energy technologies are tested and demonstrated. These include heat networks, biogas, wood and pellet burners, residual heat and solar energy.
Recently, it was the Netherlands’ turn to host such a visit. A large group of staff members from partner organisations travelled to the Netherlands for a three-day programme. The visit mainly focused on regional heat networks.
The programme included a presentation about Warmte Netwerk Westland (WNW) at the Energy Cave in Rijswijk. The presentation addressed topics such as regional cooperation between governments, entrepreneurs and knowledge institutions — the so-called triple helix — as well as the integration of the heat network with the built environment and the crucial role of greenhouse horticulture in this system.
The delegation also visited Tomatoworld (the Dutch pilot within RE-Greenhouse), GreenTech Amsterdam and World Horti Center. At the World Horti Center, a student from The Hague University of Applied Sciences presented research on the needs of North-Western European stakeholders that could be incorporated into the digital tool.
Reflections
Thijmen Vosmer (Warmte Netwerk Westland): “Working together in an international subsidy project helps us exchange knowledge, increase visibility in the field of sustainable heat and the trading platform, strengthen each other and show that innovation is thriving in Westland.”
Pauline de Jong: “It was very valuable to gain new insights together at the
