Yesterday I embarked on a new path in my career; I am happy to share with you that I joined the QuinteQ company in the role of Chief Commercial Officer. In addition to being active in business development and sales of the QuinteQ flywheels, I expect to focus on the new sister company selling storage-as-service in the coming years. But let me start at the beginning:
Being active in the world of energy transition for over 15 years, I have become passionate about the new, crazy technologies that have entered our horizon. Innovative solutions to solve the challenges we face in saving energy consumption, generating renewable energy and using it in a proper and convenient way. As a chemist, I learned a long time ago that the amount of energy always remains the same in a transition, but its appearance can change in many different ways. In our current context, this fact is combined with a shift from demand-driven to supply-driven market dynamics. And here we have created the chaotic challenging and bumpy road called energy transition. The old and separate order we knew in heat, electric power, mobility or pressure as well as generation and consumption and all the positions and roles of companies and institutions in these value chains are now changing rapidly. While the old situation is said goodbye, the new situation is far from clear. This creates space and creativity, but also a threatening and dangerous moment in our history. Crises in the past have shown that they can take us to new heights (like the Renaissance) but also severely damage entire societies (like wars).
For me it is logical that this is my concern too; I care to make sure that this world will be as beautiful and as sustainably prosperous as possible for my children. This is why. This implies I am honored and happy to join the inspiring team of QuinteQ. I will focus on developing a safe and affordable energy storage solution and making it available to companies, cooperatives and institutions.
What we, QuinteQ, bring to the table is a new, most advanced flywheel energy storage solution, developed by the Boeing company, made in the Netherlands. A no-friction system based on a super conductive crystal with ultra-high rim speed, very low standby losses, a long lifetime and near-unlimited cycling capabilities. Consider it the shock-absorber of an energy system which you can beat up and down as much as needed, to smoothen and extend the application of other energy system components and storage systems. This new technology and product will help with the cheaper balancing of supply and demand, bring a solution for net congestion, help microgrids to operate safe, reliable, efficient and economically attractive.
This system fits into the picture of our new world and even better; it will help us through the next transition years to come.
All this is what I see as my new challenging ‘trail’ for the coming years. As a trail runner, I know what it means to connect with a team, prepare by studying the trail, training skills, and adapting to the landscape and weather and the opportunities and problems I face. A big part of the fun is the shared journey, herewith I’m keeping my eyes on the goal, the mountain peak in front of me. I will keep you posted!