In the energy transition, it is tempting to remain broad. After all, almost every conversation starts with the same observation: everything is connected to everything else. Mobility affects the built environment; the built environment affects the grid; the grid affects industry; storage affects virtually all of these domains at once. The result is that for regions, governments, and innovation programs, it can sometimes feel as though you are only relevant if you are active everywhere.

But over the past few years, I have learned that the opposite is true. Those who want to be everywhere end up achieving real depth nowhere. Those who stay broad become fragmented. And those who are guided by the reflex to “do something for every theme” mainly build isolated initiatives that rarely show coherence. Acceleration only occurs when you dare to choose — and when you accept that choosing automatically means that some paths will not be taken.

The Connectr way of working…

When Connectr was founded, an important starting point was that we wanted to work on innovation beyond the fundamental research phase. Only then do you achieve economic impact.

But there were countless themes we could have focused on: hydrogen, heavy industry, maritime, storage, smart grids, heat systems — and so on. We explored many, but quickly realized that focus is not a limitation; it is an accelerator. And that you only build a true innovation ecosystem when you sharpen what you do and do not stand for.

How do we make those choices? We do not make them ourselves. We are kept sharp by our program council: an independent group of experts from industry and knowledge institutions. Their role is not to move along with hypes, but to examine where real market potential lies, where the region’s strength resides, and above all where innovations can reach the market within 3–5 years.

…leads to one major acceleration!

At Connectr, we have therefore consciously chosen focus. No hobby projects. No fragmentation. No “this as well.” Not because other themes are unimportant, but because impact requires choices. By choosing, something happened that we had underestimated beforehand: activities began to reinforce one another. Projects suddenly proved to align logically. We saw consortia come together more quickly, and partners from the region were better able to find us.

And here, too, lies the merit of our partners: Provincie Gelderland incorporates our themes into provincial subsidy schemes; Hogeschool van Arnhem-Nijmegen builds innovation projects around these themes; and The Economic Board adopts these themes in its regional profiling and lobbying. As a region, we have therefore grown in five years from a broad ambition to a clear profile.

The impact we are now achieving stems from that sharpness. And that profile is now truly starting to work. Our choices have ultimately become three clear innovation themes: Heavy Duty Charging (HDC), Temporary Energy Systems (TES), and Urban Energy Systems (UES). These are not “Connectr themes,” but regional choices. They are areas where our strength lies, where our companies can scale up, and where we as a region can truly make a difference.

Choosing, therefore, is not limiting. It is the prerequisite for impact.

Explanation of the figures:

Market potential: concerns the level of certainty in the market. With a certain market development, the likelihood increases that companies in this market can grow further, resulting in a strengthening of the regional economy and a greater contribution to the energy transition.

Alignment with the region: The region must have a sufficiently strong foundation to be able to claim a subtheme and therefore prioritize it highly. A sufficient foundation may mean that enough companies are active within the subtheme and/or that unique facilities or organizations are present and/or that there is a strong knowledge base on which further development can build.

Timing: Is there momentum (emerging) in the market that Connectr can move along with? Timing can be measured by “drivers” such as legislation and regulations or investments that are or are not being made.

Time to market: This axis determines how long it will take before the innovative technology (the solution) can reach the market. This can be measured through TRL levels and sector reports published annually.