Trade Economy
The Rhine-Meuse delta has made the Netherlands a trading nation and a transit country, where raw materials and products are transshipped, stored, processed, and distributed deep into the European hinterland via rivers, railways, and roads. In addition to a world-class transport and logistics sector, the Netherlands also has an extensive pipeline network. Through this underground network, industrial gases such as nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen are exchanged via industrial clusters in the Netherlands with industries in Belgium, France, and Germany. The Netherlands also possesses extensive, nationwide networks for gas and electricity, which serve as crucial links in the international gas and electricity network.
Circular Mainframe
The transition to a circular economy and the exchange of resources such as heat, CO2, biogas, electricity, hydrogen, and biomass requires new infrastructures and the smart reuse of existing infrastructures and pipelines. For an internationally attractive business environment, reliable energy and resource supply at low costs is essential. This applies to oil and natural gas in the current system and will also apply to sustainable energy and biobased resources in the future. Robust (international) networks for the supply of fossil resources have given the Netherlands a competitive edge in petrochemicals. Creating a circular mainframe, a new network in which hydrogen, electricity, heat, and CO2 are efficiently distributed across the country, is crucial for developing a robust, future-oriented energy landscape and maintaining our leadership in biochemistry.
Where various (underground) energy flows converge, new industrial clusters will emerge, or existing ones will be strengthened. Deep-sea ports, with their port-industrial complexes, will become important hubs for hydrocarbon flows and hydrocarbon conversion. Additionally, regional differences will arise due to the availability of local resources, leading to specialized industrial clusters spread across the country.
Where various (underground) energy flows converge, new industrial clusters will emerge, or existing ones will be strengthened. Deep-sea ports, with their port-industrial complexes, will become important hubs for hydrocarbon flows and hydrocarbon conversion. Additionally, regional differences will arise due to the availability of local resources, leading to specialized industrial clusters spread across the country.
Economic Landscape
The Netherlands is a society where economic activities and their associated benefits and burdens are relatively evenly distributed across the country. The Netherlands is home to cities, (air)ports, petrochemical complexes, nature reserves, and greenhouse horticulture, all of which function like organs in a body, each serving a particular role for the whole. The integration of our new energy systems should be no exception. The modern energy landscape, with wind turbines, solar farms, battery storage, and energy hubs, must function as a recognizable system rather than being scattered across the land like a patchwork.
The integration of new industries and economies also deserves attention. Where will the hubs and processing points for collecting and processing resources in the circular economy be located? And what will these hubs look like? What impact will the data economy, with its large data centers and significant demand for green electricity, have? How will we manage large logistics centers, industrial parks, and other economic clusters? To keep the Netherlands livable and preserve the cultural and historical structures of the landscape, we must gain more control over the spatial planning of this economic landscape.
The integration of new industries and economies also deserves attention. Where will the hubs and processing points for collecting and processing resources in the circular economy be located? And what will these hubs look like? What impact will the data economy, with its large data centers and significant demand for green electricity, have? How will we manage large logistics centers, industrial parks, and other economic clusters? To keep the Netherlands livable and preserve the cultural and historical structures of the landscape, we must gain more control over the spatial planning of this economic landscape.
our efforts
projectCircular Mainframe
The Circular Mainframe is a design exploration into a possible future vision of a robust and efficient energy and resource system in 2050, developed from spatial considerations and system logic.
StudioMarcoVermeulen conducted this research on behalf of the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) and the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK). Since the Climate Agreement in 2018, Studio Marco Vermeulen has been working on this issue. The Climate Agreement represents one of the biggest challenges for spatial planning in the coming decades, and we contributed to a coherent spatial elaboration of the results from the Industrial Climate Table.
StudioMarcoVermeulen conducted this research on behalf of the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) and the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK). Since the Climate Agreement in 2018, Studio Marco Vermeulen has been working on this issue. The Climate Agreement represents one of the biggest challenges for spatial planning in the coming decades, and we contributed to a coherent spatial elaboration of the results from the Industrial Climate Table.
projectSolar Highway A37
Rijkswaterstaat is investigating the possibility of making several parts of its territory available for the generation of sustainable energy. The space along motorways offers opportunities for both wind and solar energy. With this, Rijkswaterstaat wants to contribute to a sustainable energy supply and at the same time generate possible revenues for the maintenance of the national road network.
projectThe Road to Paris
What are the spatial consequences of the energy transition, or what will the Netherlands look like in 2050? With the design exploration The Road to Paris (Via Parijs), we show how we can shape the energy transition in the coming decades. It shows an inspiring vision on the future in 2050 that arises from spatial choices and the logic of systems. It shows that this transition offers opportunities to make the Netherlands even more beautiful and cleaner. In the Climate Agreement, arrangements were made until 2030. This strategy looks further ahead, until 2050, when the Netherlands will be CO2 neutral. In this design exploration the entire task for CO2 reduction has been mapped and placed in a national perspective. It provides an inspiring narrative, a "bigger story" about the Netherlands that gives direction to the transition to a post-fossil society.
projectDutch Smart Thermal Grid
The Dutch energy demand consists of more than half being the heat requirement of homes, businesses, greenhouses, and industry. Currently, this heat is almost entirely produced by burning natural gas in factories, power plants, homes, offices, and greenhouses. However, there are significant disadvantages to burning natural gas. For example, the Netherlands is becoming increasingly dependent on importing natural gas. At the current rate at which we are extracting natural gas in Groningen, the natural supply in the Netherlands will be depleted within a few decades. Additionally, the emissions from burning natural gas contribute to climate change. Therefore, drastically reducing the use of natural gas is an urgent part of the pathway to achieving the policy goal of a sustainable energy supply. But how?
projectKlavertje 4 Greenport Venlo
Cloverleaf 4 (K4) is an area of approximately 5,000 hectares located northwest of Venlo, between the highways A73 and A67. In this vast region, a dynamic zone of logistics and agricultural activities has been developed with minimal disruption to the nature in which these activities are embedded. The new buildings blend as seamlessly as possible with the landscape, creating a harmonious and sustainable balance between the economy and ecology. In the master plan, the different functions are coordinated as much as possible, so that added value can be created: the Agro Business Park. Here, a large number of logistics functions (distribution, trade, storage) are combined with facilities for production and processing. The goal is not just to move goods but also to add value, trade them directly, and develop knowledge. For example, by combining smart water management, energy systems, and infrastructure.