Climate

The Netherlands faces a water crisis: too much water, a shortage of water, agricultural fertilisers, and industrial pollution such as PFAS and medicine residues threaten our drinking water supply. Some new businesses are already denied drinking water connections; new residential areas may soon meet the same fate. It is crucial to invest in water technology for a sustainable future.

As the world switches to renewable energy, the electric grid — originally designed for the stable energy flows from centralised fossil fuel power plants — is struggling to keep up. Electric vehicles, heavy machinery, and fluctuating sources like solar and wind are putting more strain on the grid. Could blue and green hydrogen be a solution to keep the lights on and machines running?

In this story, Dr. Yashar Hajimolana, Assistant Professor Energy Systems Integration at the University of Twente, explains how hydrogen can contribute to a more sustainable and stable energy system.

The switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy is going to need some nifty technology that depends on chemical elements that we have not used much before, and most of these come from minerals in rocks in the Earth’s crust. Five of these minerals stand out as Earth’s potential lifesavers.

The province of Overijssel is known for its robust agricultural and animal-farming activities. But the bustling livestock farms come with a cost. The animals produce an overwhelming amount of manure, leading to water pollution and harmful emissions. But what if this ‘waste’ could become a source of energy?

How can we make our holidays more sustainable? A question that concerns many engineers, scientists, and citizens. Emissions need to decrease, but in the aviation industry, that's not so simple yet. Research at the University of Twente is investigating a promising technology that could lead to hydrogen-powered airplanes: cryogenic superconductivity.