
Opening New Energy Forum 2025

“I am here without a top hat, but with high expectations.” With these words, dressed as a circus director, Anna Gimbrère opened the fifth edition of New Energy Forum in the circus tent that housed the festival’s main stage. Anna Gimbrère is science journalist and presenter and this year’s New Energy Forum chairman to introduce all the sections on the main stage and interview the speakers.
She referred to all the energy and mobility transition developments taking place in the north. And that we should be more proud of what is happening here. ‘It’s about time the sobriety paid off,’ said Gimbrère in her circus director’s suit. Because down-to-earth is a characteristic that suits our country’s northern inhabitants well. Despite this sobriety, Entrance, Hanze, Hive.Mobility and New Energy Coalition organise New Energy Forum, “the festival of your future”, every year. Or as the chairman of the day described it, ‘a stage for pioneers and this year in particular doers.’
Some of these doers were called forward and introduced to the audience in advance:
The Prey
Robin, Karst, Jorik and Thomas came forward. Four young people, cousins of each other, who built a solar boat together. With their solar-powered boat, The Predator, they competed in the Young Solar Challenge and sailed the Elfstedentocht. Gimbrère asked them what they came to New Energy Forum to do. Answer: ‘We want to show that today’s youth have it in them after all.’ They had brought their solar boat to show the New Energy Forum audience.


Tijmen Sissing
Gimbrère then told of a boy who went on a trip to Southeast Asia. “Once there, he found not only a green paradise, but especially a lot of rubbish. This boy then did not look for a beach without litter, but chose to clean up the litter he saw on the beach. And as a result, more and more people started helping.” That boy is Tijmen Sissing, now also known as ‘the trashpacker’. With his recycling bus, he travelled to New Energy Forum this day. Among other things, to inspire the youngsters of the Energy Transition Expedition, part of the festival. As a taster, he asked the audience to shout some random words which he wrote down on a blackboard. Using these words, he created an impressive freestyle rap about the energy transition.


Scientists: André Faaij en Francesco Picchioni
New Energy Forum programmed a diverse range of speakers, including scientists. Two of them were called forward by Gimbrère to introduce themselves. First, André Faaij, scientist at TNO, was introduced as the publishing canon. Why? Because, as a scientist, he publishes many articles. ‘Those deal with topics like energy systems and how they can change something as quickly as possible,’ he explained. Faaij went on to talk about Ukraine’s potential as a giant for green energy: “Because the old energy system is broken now. If that system can be rebuilt in the future, it can be completely green and can help make Ukraine and the rest of Europe more sustainable. In doing so, we as TNO are looking at how Dutch companies can assist in this greening.”
Finally, Francesco Picchioni was introduced by Gimbrère as the “slipper professor”. As a scientist, he researches recycling. ‘It is important to be daring,’ Picchioni said. “Together with my team, I am researching how to recycle rubber into new products, including slippers. We are the only ones who have the technology where we can recycle passenger tyres.” With this research, Picchioni and his team won the Ben Feringa Impact Award 2025 this spring. He and his team were happy to tell more about it at their stand at the demonstration market.


The programme is open
After this festive introduction by Anna Gimbrère and the introduction of The Prey, Tijmen Sissing and scientists André Faaij and Francesco Picchioni, the jam-packed programme of New Energy Forum 2025 officially kicked off.
About New Energy Forum
The New Energy Forum is the festival for (upcoming) mobility and energy professionals and everyone concerned with a liveable future. It is an annual initiative of us (New Energy Coalition), Entrance, Hanze & Hive Mobiltiy at the Entrance test site on Zernike Campus Groningen. During the festival, the Entrance Award will also be presented: the award for pioneers in energy transition.
On 19 June 2025, Groningen was once again the vibrant centre of the energy and mobility transition during the New Energy Forum. This unique event, which now has five successful editions, is much more than a traditional conference. It is the most idiosyncratic energy festival in the Northern Netherlands and is unique in its form by combining content, meeting and experience with this edition as. This edition was entirely dedicated to tacklers and DOEN! Over 1,700 visitors gathered at trial site Entrance.