Koen Kok, professor of Intelligent Energy Systems at Eindhoven University of Technology and former board member of the KIVI Kring Alkmaar, has agreed to fill in for the evening.

Electricity plays a key role in the energy transition. Transition paths of various sectors are (partly) via a transition to electricity as an energy carrier. This, and an increasing supply of electricity from solar and wind, increases uncertainty in the system and means that grids are being used in ways that were not foreseen when they were designed. In his talk, Koen Kok highlights a number of areas of tension that require attention in this transition.

The tension between solutions to urgent problems and the long-term transition. The tension between the regulated operation of infrastructure and the free market for energy. Between optimisations at local and national level, between energy from near or far. On this basis, he discusses open questions for the industry and science and possible solution directions based on digitalisation and modelling.