HybridLabs consortium receives millions from Dutch Research Council

The consortium HybridLabs - Accelerating Dutch innovations in offshore renewable energy through data-driven hybrid labs , for which researchers from our faculty are collaborating with 35 other parties, has been awarded a major grant from the Dutch Research Council. The DRC will support the project with €10,4 million, which will fund research until December 2030.

Four researchers from the UG

Prof. Lorenzo Squintani and Ceciel Nieuwenhout, LL.M, both working within the Energy Law section of our faculty, are working on HybridLabs on behalf of the University of Groningen. The request for funding for the project was submitted by Dr Axelle Viré of TU Delft.

Thanks to the funding, two new PhD students can be appointed at the UG to work on HybridLabs. They will investigate the legal aspects of all innovations in offshore wind and will be supervised by Nieuwenhout.

The goal and research questions

The goal of HybridLabs is to accelerate the development and deployment of offshore renewable technologies that support energy transitions, food transitions and ecological transitions. The researchers aim to achieve this by improving the design, control, monitoring and logistics of those energy sources.

Squintani, Nieuwenhout and Viré are collaborating for HybridLabs with researchers from 35 other agencies. Together, they aim to answer a multitude of research questions, including ‘How can we quickly make our energy supply greener while keeping it affordable and reliable?’ and ‘What is the most efficient and sustainable way to convert wind energy into electricity?’

Contributing to innovation in two ways

HybridLabs will serve as an accelerator in two ways. First, it will help accelerate the deployment of renewable technologies for both electricity and hydrogen production in the North Sea, thus meeting national energy transition needs. It will also take into account marine environmental impacts and strengthen local food transitions and ecological transitions.

Second, it will strategically position the Dutch knowledge and innovation chain in the Irish West Atlantic coast, which represents one of the most important European opportunities for large-scale floating wind energy. Knowledge exploitation on both fronts will be achieved through the strategic partnerships within and outside the consortium.