{"id":580,"date":"2024-08-30T16:37:12","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T15:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conferentie.smartenergyhubs.eu\/about-the-conferentie\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T12:17:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T11:17:15","slug":"about-the-conference","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/conferentie.smartenergyhubs.eu\/en\/about-the-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"About the conference"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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About the conference<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Smart Energy Hubs as a Solution for Grid Congestion and a Catalyst for Systemic Energy Transition<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The transition to a 100% CO\u2082-free energy supply across all sectors (mobility and logistics, the built environment, agriculture, industry, and beyond ) is increasingly challenged by the mismatch between the rising integration of renewable energy and the simultaneous growth in electricity demand. For the existing electrical networks, the limits are being reached in many places with regard to available capacity for input and consumption of energy with grid congestion as a result. This constraint is not only slowing down the energy transition but also hindering the sustainable growth of companies, business parks, and industrial zones. In the coming years, these limitations will become even more pressing as hard-to-abate sectors such as shipping, aviation, heavy industry, and large-scale mobility will rely more heavily on electrified solutions for sustainable heat, fuels, and chemical feedstocks\u2014demanding new forms of conversion, flexibility, and integration. <\/p>

Smart Energy Hubs (SEHs) offer a comprehensive and scalable solution to these challenges. Acting as decentralized, intelligent nodes, SEHs connect various energy carriers (e.g. electricity, heat, cooling, gas, and hydrogen) into a single, smartly managed system. They enable the dynamic interaction between local energy generation, conversion, storage, and consumption. This approach not only enhances the efficiency and reliability of local energy systems but also reduces the need for large-scale grid reinforcements by mitigating congestion at the source. Early implementations are already demonstrating impact through capacity-limiting contracts, local energy management systems, on-site battery storage, and smart charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, especially within industrial clusters and business parks. <\/p>

The strength of Smart Energy Hubs lies in their ability to balance local energy flows, ensuring that renewable energy produced within an area can also be consumed locally, even in the presence of grid constraints. This creates space for sustainable economic activity, enhances energy security, and supports business continuity in congested regions. Their successful deployment, however, depends on a highly interdisciplinary approach, involving fields such as energy systems engineering, control systems, power electronics, economics, and social sciences. <\/p>

The effective realization of Smart Energy Hubs requires strong multi-stakeholder collaboration. Governments, private sector actors, academic institutions, and local communities all play key roles in shaping policy and driving innovation.

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Purpose of the conference<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The solution framework that includes Smart Energy Hubs is still relatively new and there is a continuous need for the exchange of knowledge and experiences from practice surrounding the development and implementation of the solutions. In addition, there is a need for a better understanding of the scope of the solution framework and what can be expected in the future in terms of new solutions and applications, e.g. the use of Multi-Commodity Smart Grids to achieve the conversion of electrical energy into heat, sustainable fuels and chemical building blocks. This also requires new insights and developments from science. <\/p>

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The Smart Energy Hubs Conference is organized by Saxion University of Applied Sciences and the University of Twente, in collaboration with Oost NL, and is supported by organizations such as Top Sector Energy, the Energy Hubs Knowledge Platform, and projects within the TKI-MOOI and NWO-SIA programme frameworks. The conference is intended to meet the aforementioned information needs and aims at the exchange of scientific knowledge (by researchers) and practical experience (by professionals). At the conference, participants will gain new knowledge and experience about the current state of the art and participants will be updated about the latest developments (also internationally) in the field of smart energy hubs. The conference attracted more than 200 participants (speakers and attendees) in 2025. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Themes and design<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The first edition of the conference took place at Connect-U in Enschede on November 20, 2024. The target groups were researchers (from universities, universities of applied sciences, and TO2 institutes), industry experts, and representatives from municipalities, companies, and consulting firms. A total of 42 speakers presented in parallel sessions on the following topics: <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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