Hydrogen

Hydrogen has been called the missing link in the energy system of the future. As an energy carrier for storage and transport it can pave the way for large offshore wind and solar parks. As an alternative for natural gas it can heat our houses via the existing gas infrastructure. As a tankable fuel, it can make shipping more sustainable. In short, green hydrogen is the future. The government agrees and this year presented an ambitious hydrogen view for the Netherlands.

To produce all this green hydrogen we need electrolysis plants that can use sustainably generated electricity to convert water into oxygen and hydrogen on a large scale. And this  is just one step on the path from the vision to the reality. The good news is that we are conducting research on our campus into many aspects of the hydrogen economy, from fundamental research into nano-particles for increased production efficiency, to pilot projects for applications.

From a green future to a grey past: the 66-million-year-old bone fragments that found their way to Delft 129 years ago, have now been restored using the latest technology and the Triceratops skull has returned to its place. Not so long ago, but just as fascinating, is the story of the first female engineer at the Bandung Institute of Technology.

Luckily women engineers are no longer a rarity today. In the TU Delft Best Graduate Award, male and female finalists and winners have been relatively well-matched in recent years. And even if the immediate future holds much uncertainty, a future that is shaped in part by our best graduates of 2020 is a future I can face with confidence.

Professor Tim van der Hagen,
President Executive Board