New Energy Forum 2025: The Lowlands festival of energy and mobility transition
On 19 June 2025, Groningen will once again become the vibrant centre of the energy and mobility transition at the New Energy Forum festival. This unique event, now in its fifth edition, is much more than a traditional conference. It is the most quirky energy festival in the Northern Netherlands – or as Charles van Santvoord, member of the programme council on behalf of New Energy Coalition, aptly describes it: ‘The Lowlands festival among energy and mobility transition events.’
Meet, experience and ACT!
What sets the New Energy Forum apart is its unique combination of content, meeting and experience. The festival bears the telling subtitle Breaking Barriers. It is all about breaking entrenched patterns and investment structures. The goal? Building new value chains and solutions for a sustainable future together. And all this is set in a casual atmosphere where fun and inspiration go hand in hand.
Visitors will be inspired by keynote speakers, interactive sessions, demonstrations and panel discussions. The heart of the festival is a large circus tent dedicated to sustainable go-getters and ACTION! But there’s more. There are several theme tents, each with its own topic like Citizens initiatives, Knowledge & Innovation and Talent of the Future. This creates a rich palette of meeting places.
From idea to action
The anniversary edition of 2025 has a clear motto: ACT! According to Charles, it is time not only to research and plan, but above all to showcase, experience and take action together. ‘Long-term research remains essential, but above all we just have to start acting now, ’ he stresses.
One of Charles’ highlights in the program is the Forum-Rap, when rapper Rico from the Dutch rap group ‘Opgezwolle’ will compose on the spot a circular rap together with students. But whether you are immersed in a VR experience or roll up your sleeves yourself at one of the demos – it is all about experiencing, participating and ending up with a fresh perspective on a sustainable future.
New Energy Forum offers a mix of light-hearted and serious topics. The atmosphere of a festival coupled with the content of a Forum. That makes it a festival where everyone is welcome, where we inspire each other and spur each other into action.
- Marcel Koenis – Programme Council member Entrance
Five years of New Energy Forum
The New Energy Forum festival has now firmly established itself in the north, but it once started on a smaller scale. Five years ago, the festival emerged from the previously organised TransFuture Festival. With the ambition to further grow and broaden the event, New Energy Coalition joined as co-organiser. Together with Hive.Mobility, the network for sustainable mobility, as a third partner, the foundation was laid for what has now grown into the most fun festival for energy and mobility professionals.
Charles stresses that the cooperation of partners is crucial to the success of the event: “From the start, we wanted to create an event to connect the triple helix -enterprises, knowledge institutions and policy makers. It has since become much broader. Everyone with an interest in a sustainable future is welcome and contributes.”
With the anniversary year in sight, New Energy Forum festival is not only a meeting place for the region, but also a showcase for the whole of the Netherlands and beyond, bringing together knowledge, inspiration and action.
Five years of New Energy Forum
At Hive.Mobility, we believe that cooperation and knowledge sharing are essential to make mobility more sustainable, smarter and future-proof. The New Energy Forum is a unique platform to showcase innovations, exchange ideas and take concrete steps towards the mobility of the future. That is why we are happy to actively contribute to the organisation of this inspiring event. Together, we are going for a liveable future.
- Jasper van der Velde – Programme Council memberHive.Mobility
Inclusive and inspiring
The Inclusive and inspiring New Energy Forum event offers an accessible and informal character. In fact, everyone is welcome at this free event. Companies, knowledge institutions, governments and everyone with an interest in energy, mobility and sustainability meet here on an equal footing. Approachability of the participants contributes to surprising conversations, new connections and unexpected insights.
In addition, the festival offers plenty of scope for customisation. Visitors can compile their own programme and immerse themselves in a variety of topics, from circularity and sustainable mobility to entrepreneurship in the energy transition and built environment.
Besides the many interesting sessions on sustainability, we also provide a sustainable festival. For example: snacks and drinks at the event are locally and sustainably sourced.
From local to global
Although the New Energy Forum is rooted in the northern Netherlands, its impact reaches beyond the region. Charles explains: “We regard the event as a shop window. We invite people nationwide to come and see what is being done here. At the same time we want to learn from other regions. “The festival is a showcase of the innovative strength of the northern region traditionally known as the energy region.”
This year’s programme brings the regional strength and ambition to life with striking real-life examples. For example, the session “How a bottom-up initiative became successful but did not fit within the current rules”, organised by the National Climate Platform, shows how residents of the town of Woldwijk transformed a piece of wasteland into a thriving community in seven years time. They show how local power contributes to pressing issues such as climate, energy and housing, but also pinpoint where existing systems fall short.
Then, on the main stage, Suzanne Debrichy of PostNL tells how the company is working towards their goal of 90% CO₂ reduction by 2040. She discusses emission-free city logistics, smart deployment of electric vehicles and how AI helps make logistics processes more sustainable. Especially for a region like the northern Netherlands, with logistics hubs and growing business, this offers valuable lessons on how even big players are accelerating the energy transition and what that can mean locally.
An invitation to be amazed
For Charles, the answer is simple when you ask why you shouldn’t miss out on the New Energy Forum event: “Because it is the place to get acquainted with the latest ideas, initiatives and visions in the energy and mobility transition in a fun, positive and informal way.
In short: come to Groningen on 19 June, be amazed and help break down barriers to a sustainable future.
