Our vision at a sustainable society

Thema:
Sustainable society

At TNO, our goal is to achieve a sustainable society. A society that can adapt to a changing climate and contributes to a circular economy. A society with a sustainable living environment, renewable energy, and sustainable industry.

From progress to new challenges

In the last century, we have made progress in terms of prosperity and well-being. But this has consequences for our living environment and the environment as a whole. The climate is changing, natural resources are running out, land is subsiding, and biodiversity is under threat. This has resulted in complex challenges and diverse interests. We want space for industry, agriculture, and mobility. But we also want to reduce nitrogen emissions. We want sustainable energy generation and housing. But we also want landscape conservation. And the application of circular raw materials is sometimes diametrically opposed to the competitive ‘low-cost’ industry.

3 building blocks of a sustainable society

To make our society sustainable, we must emit fewer harmful substances. This is also laid down in the climate goals. In addition, we must build a circular economy to make balanced choices about the use of raw materials. And we must be prepared for changes in our climate. To achieve this, we at TNO focus on a sustainable living environment, sustainable energy, and a sustainable industry. We’re looking for integrated solutions at the system level. These are solutions that balance the changing needs of society, the environment, and the economy.

1. Sustainable living environment

We’re committed to creating a living environment with good liveability, in which we can live, work, and move around without harming the environment. At TNO, we develop smart and sustainable technology aimed at safe and efficient mobility and logistics without CO2 emissions. We also develop concepts for energy-neutral, healthy, and safe buildings with a sustainable heat supply. In addition, we study the possible effects of climate change on buildings, infrastructure, and existing and new facilities. We also focus on circularity. We research how we can close the raw material supply chains in our living environment and how we can avoid the use of primary raw materials.

2. Sustainable energy

The energy system of the future is stable, accessible to all, and sustainable. To achieve this and counteract increasing climate change, it’s crucial to accelerate the transition to a zero-emission energy supply. We focus on the innovative mix of technological solutions that make this possible. For example, energy generated by sun, wind, and biomass, and geothermal energy. But also the development of clean energy carriers, such as green hydrogen, energy storage technologies, and a reliable energy infrastructure. In addition, we develop designs for a reliable, accessible, and sustainable energy system.

3. Sustainable industry

sustainable industry is climate-neutral, emits no greenhouse gases, and is largely circular. Factories get their energy from sustainably produced electricity, green gas, and hydrogen. We develop technology for the production of this energy. For the chemical industry, we focus on the use of renewable energy to produce heat, hydrogen, and chemicals. We’re also working on the use of renewable raw materials such as recycled products, biomass, and CO2. We also design products and materials that are easy to recycle and better for the environment.

This is how we work on a sustainable society

332 resultaten, getoond 1 t/m 5

New initiative commits to further strengthen European leadership in wind energy

Informatietype:
News
22 September 2023

Last week, nine key research organisations and universities, all members of EERA JP Wind, signed a cooperative agreement to establish a European Centre of Excellence (EuCoE) on wind energy.

TNO studies on geothermal energy potential find their way to art gallery in Turin

Informatietype:
Insight
21 September 2023

You’re working at TNO on long-term scenarios for the energy system to meet global climate targets by 2050 and suddenly you receive an email from a famous Italian photographer. ‘Can our visual designer turn this into something beautiful?’

Quantum internet enabled by space

Informatietype:
Event

Building on our combined know-how in quantum, free space optics and classical networks, TNO is working hard to enable quantum internet from space. In this webinar, Charlotte Postma and Gustavo Castro do Amaral will get you up to speed on the achievements so far, and the steps ahead.

Startdatum:
Locatie:
Online

Supporting municipalities to achieve heat transition

Informatietype:
Insight
13 September 2023

Local governments, especially municipalities, play a crucial role in the heat transition. Over 90 per cent of homes in the Netherlands are currently heated using fossil fuel, mainly natural gas. Find out how TNO supports municipalities with knowledge, experience and tools for sustainable heat sources like geothermal.

Wind turbine inspections with autonomous drones and digital twin modelling

Informatietype:
News
12 September 2023

Wind turbine blade inspections can be faster, cheaper and safer. TNO and SpectX are combining their expertise areas on a new one-year project known as the IBIS project (Increased Blade Inspection Safety).