Province of Noord-Brabant

The Province of Noord-Brabant has set clear targets for clean energy. Its energy agenda for 2019-2030 aims for half of all energy from renewable sources and 55 percent less CO2 than in 1990 by 2030, and for a climate-neutral Brabant in 2050.

The province also backs the technologies that can meet them. In 2019 it put one million euros into Metal Power, the TU/e research on iron powder as a circular fuel, and in 2024 it invested in Solarge, the Brabant maker of lightweight solar panels. Both are NEON partners as well.

For NEON, Brabant was the public partner for testing in real life. The province supported the programme with a subsidy from 2020 and served as a living lab: a region where new ideas about energy, mobility and governance meet real streets, grids and residents. It is named in eight of NEON's work packages, more than any other partner, from local energy markets and electric mobility to regulation, societal values and the integral model.

That role gave the research a concrete map to work on. A digital twin of Brabant, commissioned by the province and grid operator Enexis, gave NEON PhD candidates real use cases for their models, at the scale where a provincial energy strategy has to work.

From the former NEON website

About Province of Noord-Brabant

The Province of Noord-Brabant is an enterprising, innovative and successful Dutch region in Europe with 2,5 million inhabitants. High tech and high touch are inseparable. The close collaboration between the Brabant partners, in national and international networks, stimulates the further development of innovation and entrepreneurship. Noord-Brabant is centrally positioned between the port cities of Rotterdam and Antwerp and the German Ruhr area. It has an international reputation as a European top region for innovation and knowledge with an inspiring business climate. Brabant has the ambition to maintain and enhance this leading position.

The Province of Noord-Brabant represents the administrative layer between the national government and the local municipalities. The provincial administration takes initiatives on an economic, social and cultural level and coordinates actions. The provincial administration of Brabant is primarily concerned with spatial development, accessibility and mobility for the region, regional economic policy, culture and regional identity.

Role in NEON

The Province of Noord-Brabant is a living lab, the public partner in real life testing and learning by doing.

Motivation for joining NEON

Today’s cities face challenges in terms of congestion, lack of space, growing population, air quality, noise, liveability, social inclusion, health, economic development and creation of jobs. Citizens want to be mobile and move from a to b – within and between cities – easily, cheap, smart and clean. Freight needs to be transported equally easy, cheap, smart and clean. Expanding infrastructure in the urban environment is almost never an option and not a sustainable long-term solution: It is not cost-effective, there is no space, it gives environmental issues and citizens want custom-made and flexible solutions instead of strictly regulated public transport. Meanwhile innovation and competitiveness is crucial for the future of Brabant.

Large-scale deployment of smart and sustainable mobility solutions is part of dealing with these challenges. C-ITS, automated driving, MaaS, on demand and shared mobility concepts and smart bicycle solutions can contribute to wealthy, healthy, clean, spacious, liveable and accessible cities. Industry has innovative solutions available that have the potential to truly revolutionise mobility in cities and regions. Learning by doing and user centric design are key
Four priority areas within Noord-Brabant for now:

1. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) as part of SmartwayZ.NL
2. Future-proof public transport
3. Fast cycling connections
4. Urban logistics

Furthermore NEON offers companies and regional governments a possibility to architecture their energy system and technological novelties by means of a digital twin. The development of digital twins and testing innovative technologies by their contribution to the transition of the energy system in a more sustainable architecture is a mayor topic within the policy of Brabant. And because of the complexity like the introduction and interaction between new energy sources such as heat, electricity and synthetic energy carriers, there is a necessity to re-design logistic energy systems.
See also: https://www.brabant.nl/onderwerpen/energie/energieneutrale-industrie/alliantie-energieopslag

Therefore Noord-Brabant is eager to contribute to the challenges and opportunities of learning by doing within the NEON project.

Text from the former NEON website (original page).