The format of the meeting in the Matrix building, which had been taped last week, was that of a talk show. Science information officer Barry Fitzgerald hosted the show and welcomed President of the Executive Board Robert-Jan Smits and State Secretary of Infrastructure Stientje van Veldhoven as his first guests. Van Veldhoven hopes that there will be “green growth” when the economy stats to improve again. She emphatically stated that the current crisis also offers opportunities to tackle the climate problem.

According to her, it’s especially important to consider emissions related to the production of goods and foodstuffs, which makes up 45 percent of total emissions, the State Secretary said. “We first need to look at the product, that’s where it starts,” Van Veldhoven said. “Consider reuse, as well as things you can share and that contribute to a circular economy.” By way of example, she mentioned the Fairphone, the smartphone with a modular design that allows customers to replace faulty parts. Employees at TU/e can opt for this smartphone since 2017, but the introduction was never completely successful.

Van Veldhoven’s plea proved to be a nice stepping stone to the official launch of new energy institute EIRES, the Eindhoven Institute for Renewable Energy Systems, in which TU/e will invest ten million euros during the next five years. In addition, the university will recruit four new professors and eleven new assistant/associate professors for this institute.

Professor Richard van de Sanden, scientific director of EIRES, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the VDL-Group for collaboration in the field of the development of smart, small-scale devices and systems that convert and store energy. The VDL-Group sees serious opportunities to produce such devices on a large scale for the global market, said VDL-ETG’s CEO Guustaaf Savenije in a video. By activating a so-called metal burner, which releases energy stored in iron powder, Van Veldhoven officially launched EIRES.