Wubbo Ockels calls for action in pursuit of sustainability

"Practice is stronger than theory"

Women, small businesses and young people: we need them all if we are to render the Netherlands truly sustainable, believes Wubbo Ockels. The physicist and former astronaut is Professor of Aerospace Sustainable Engineering and Technology at Delft University of Technology. He sees a future in which vehicles are plugged into the mains 'like one enormous battery'. To bring this energy transition a step closer, he calls for more practical experimentation. "We have to find out what actually works".

During his lectures, Wubbo Ockels has often noticed that women are more enthusiastic than men about working towards a truly sustainable future. There are, he states, major differences between the sexes in terms of mentality. "Men are more concerned with their own interests; they take the short-term view and tend to go for the big payout. Women feel a greater responsibility towards future generations."

It was for this reason that Ockels agreed to launch the 'Ladies First' programme on 8 March 2009, International Women's Day. This new movement - in which women lead the way and men follow - hopes to achieve a fully 'clean' Netherlands by the year 2050. The initiative is well timed, Ockels believes. "People seem to think that you are only entitled to speak out if you actually own a water-saving shower head. Everyone should be able to demand sustainability from businesses and politicians alike. It is an entitlement. However, sustainability is not yet a 'given', despite the efforts of Al Gore and the like. "Look around you. How many solar panels can you see? How many energy-neutral offices? What ambitious plans has the government announced? There are plenty of meetings to discuss sustainability in this country, but precious little action."

Unrealistic target

A particular bone of contention for Ockels are the subsidies offered for sustainable innovation. As he sees it, most of the funding goes to organisations, consultants and large companies who use it for purposes which are anything but 'new'. "Less than twenty percent is actually used to develop innovative products," he surmises. "The smaller companies are largely ignored, although they are generally responsible for most of the true innovation. The younger generation are also being sidelined because there is so little 'seed money' available. We have too little confidence in young people. They are patronised and must choose their career path at the ridiculously young age of thirteen."

Ockels calls for greater investment in education and research. He quotes Robbert Dijkgraaf, President of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW): "The Netherlands devotes only 1.8% of its Gross National Product to education and research, which is below the European average." Not only must more funding be made available, it should be spent in a more creative manner, Ockels contends.

"Why not organise more competitions? People should be challenged to be the best, as in a reality TV programme for example. Set some apparently unrealistic target, such as building a house which can produce a kilowatt of energy at no extra cost, just to pick an example out of the air. Anyone who actually manages to do so walks off with the prize of ten million euros!"

Experimentation

Ockels himself does not shy away from a challenge. As an experimental physicist, he focuses on concrete projects such as the Nuna solar-powered car, the zero-emissions yacht, the extending wind turbine (which actually 'grows' to a height of ten kilometres) and the Superbus. Such projects certainly appeal to the public imagination, although they have also exposed Ockels to criticism from the sceptics. Nevertheless, he remains steadfast. "I firmly believe in experimentation. Only by actually trying something in practice can you develop new technology at the required tempo. Moreover, practice is stronger than theory. You have to be able to demonstrate that the product actually works. The Nuna project has shown that it is indeed possible to build a very fast car which runs on nothing but sunlight."

Solar power will be the energy source of the future, Ockels believes. "The sun emits eight thousand times more energy than the entire human race actually needs. Solar panels should be installed on the roofs of all buildings, sooner rather than later. However, this will only happen when satisfactory legislation is in place. Germany has taken a step in the right direction with its 'feed-in' tariff. We must also ensure that there are enough qualified installation staff with experience in boilers, solar panels and heat pumps. Unlike Germany or the United States, we do not yet have such people. And we must invest more in know-how with regard to storing the energy derived from wind power and heat exchangers. The opportunities are boundless, but there must be a local approach and a 'smart' use of storage systems and infrastructure. I recently advised the City of Amsterdam to convert its old drainage system for this purpose."

Vehicle to grid

Finally, our conversation turns to a topic which is clearly close to the former astronaut's heart: transport. Ockels sees great potential for fuel derived from algae. "Algae replicate extremely quickly - a colony can double in size in twenty-four hours - and can be used to produce fuel, even aviation fuel. Hydrogen, on the other hand, is something of a dead end. Its production involves a particularly complex process and the cycle is only fifty percent efficient."

For the short term, Wubbo Ockels is pinning his hopes on electricity. "This is the Battery Age. Electric transport seems such an obvious choice, given the low cost and low emissions. We should make the changeover immediately. But let's not fall into the trap of relying on the traditional infrastructure of fuel stations. Drivers should be able to recharge practically anywhere. I find the 'vehicle to grid' principle particularly appealing, whereby vehicles are permanently connected to the grid, except while actually moving of course. Cars could then be used for both storage and distribution." Ockels sees a lot of mileage in similar grid concepts. "I spent a while playing with the idea of an 'intelligent power socket', which would match the variable demand to the variable supply via the Internet."