Noor Veenhoven

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Noor Veenhoven, Program manager energy & circularity at Amsterdam InChange, posted

Demoday #28: Designing for Circularity in the Port of Amsterdam

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During Demoday #28, we focused on one of the key challenges in the circular transition: how can we make the Port of Amsterdam fully circular?

The Amsterdam port is one of the largest in Europe. It functions as a major energy hub, where fossil fuels still play a central role, and as an industrial hub, where massive flows of raw materials pass through. The City of Amsterdam has set the ambitious goal of becoming fully circular by 2050. This means the port must transform as well. This is a complex and far-reaching task that requires collaboration and innovation.

In this work session, we zoomed in on circular design: how can we make products and processes circular from start to finish?

A closer look at the port

James Hallworth, Commercial Manager at Port of Amsterdam, opened the session by taking the group on a tour through the world of the port. Located in the western harbour area, the port has two main responsibilities. First, it ensures the smooth and safe handling of all maritime traffic on behalf of the City of Amsterdam. Second, it manages and develops the land and industrial areas around the harbour.

To tackle circularity, Port of Amsterdam applies industrial ecosystem thinking. In nature, waste does not exist, and the same principle should apply here. The port aims to build collaborative networks between companies, where waste flows from one company becomes raw materials for another. There is already significant activity around recycling and recovery, but more can be done in higher-value strategies on the R-ladder, such as repurposing, remanufacturing, and refurbishment. Circular by design is a key concept in this shift.

The port is transitioning from measuring success in tons to measuring added value. This shift also means thinking differently about space: circular systems require space to receive, process, and recover valuable materials from waste streams.

Getting hands-on with circular design

Creating a fully circular production process is easier said than done. That’s why we worked through two real-world cases: construction materials and e-bikes. Participants split into groups and explored what a truly circular production process might look like. We also explored the potential role the port could play as an enabler of circular supply chains.

Some key takeaways from the session:

• Material passports: A digital document containing material properties and origin can greatly simplify recycling and reuse.
• Monomaterials: Products made from a single type of material are much easier to separate and recycle at the end of life.
• Smart synergies: Mapping which companies can use each other’s waste flows as input can unlock huge circular potential.
• Financial incentives: Right now, circular processes are often more expensive than linear ones. Smart financial mechanisms could help bridge that gap.
• E-bike challenges: In the case of e-bikes, batteries were flagged as a challenge. Recycling them is still very difficult, and since they are mostly produced outside of Europe, it’s hard to have control over the production process.

This session invited participants to take a step back and view products through a circular lens. The port has the potential to become a key player in the circular transition, but to get there, it will need ideas, insights, and input from across the network.

<strong>Do you have ideas on how the Port of Amsterdam can become more circular? Or would you like to contribute to future sessions? Get in touch with Noor at noor@amsterdaminchange.com. A big thank you to James Hallworth from Port of Amsterdam for bringing this challenge to the network, and Yanti Slaats (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences) for moderating the session.</strong>

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Noor Veenhoven, Program manager energy & circularity at Amsterdam InChange, posted

Demoday #28: How to keep our mechanics on the move?

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On the 5th of July, during Demoday #28, we zoomed in on one of the pressing challenges facing the energy transition: grid congestion, and more specifically, how to keep the people who maintain the grid moving efficiently.

Grid congestion is a serious and growing concern for grid operator Alliander. It is therefore essential to speed up the grid reinforcement as much as possible. Alliander’s Operation 2.0 team is exploring innovative ways to work smarter, faster, and more flexibly to keep pace with these developments.

Their efforts focus on three tracks:

• Alleviating staff shortages by training office employees to occasionally support fieldwork.
• Exploring technologies like advanced ground radar to get better insights into underground assets.
• Improving the logistics of supplying mechanics to ensure they have the right tools, in the right place, at the right time.

This last track was the main focus of our work session.

Inefficient supply of mechanics

Logistics experiences show that mechanics collect materials inefficiently when supplying their vans and jobs, resulting in stock corrections, less control over stock, unnecessary work for logistics staff, and valuable mechanic hours being lost, which leads to less execution work. A few key problems stood out:

• Supplies are scanned inconsistently, so the system doesn’t reflect what is actually in stock.
• Every van is different, with a custom layout that suits the preferences of its mechanic.
• The work itself is unpredictable, which makes standardised restocking difficult.
• With a transition to smaller electric vans, space is becoming even more limited.

A simple optimisation of the process is not enough, especially without considering the human element. For many mechanics, a visit to the supply centre is more than just logistics. It is a moment of connection, a short break from the road, or simply a chance for a good coffee.

Ideas from the network

In groups of four, we brainstormed creative ideas to improve the supply of Alliander vans while keeping the needs and routines of mechanics in mind.

Some highlights:

• Peer-to-peer van inspiration: Let mechanics share the layout of their vans with colleagues. They can exchange best practices and take pride in an efficient setup. Adding a bit of gamification might boost motivation even more.
• A mobile supply service: A supply van could drive around to restock mechanic vans, reducing the need to visit the supply centre. However, this might remove the social element of taking a break with colleagues.
• Smarter routing: Track the location of mechanics only in relation to nearby grid faults. This way, the closest available mechanic can respond without feeling like their movements are constantly being monitored.
• Package-based resupply: Inspired by delivery service Picnic, mechanics could exchange complete “supply packages” instead of picking out materials individually. Collaborating with wholesale suppliers could reveal more useful insights.
• Automatic stock tracking: Tag all materials with RFID chips and use sensors installed in the door of the van to register what is removed from the van. This eliminates the need for manual scanning and reduces the chance of mistakes.

Do you have a bright idea to improve how mechanics work? Let us know in the comments or send a message to Noor at noor@amsterdaminchange.com.
A big thank you to Thomas Hoekstra and Iris van der Zanden from Alliander for bringing this challenge to the network, and to Chantal Inia from Royal HaskoningDHV for moderating the session.

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Noor Veenhoven, Program manager energy & circularity at Amsterdam InChange, posted

Underground Challenges and Shared Solutions: Lessons from Amsterdam for District Heating in Haarlemmermeer

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How do you install district heating in villages with narrow streets and limited underground space? This was the central question during a recent deepdive session hosted in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer. The session brought together experts from the City of Amsterdam, local officials and experts from Haarlemmermeer, and Arcadis to explore practical solutions to the physical challenges of implementing district heating in dense and complex infrastructure environments.

From complexity to coordination

Amsterdam has years of experience addressing similar challenges in dense urban areas where underground infrastructure is already under pressure. Experts from the City of Amsterdam were invited to share their approach, which combines long-term planning, integrated design processes, and flexibility in applying standards.

Some key principles they shared:

  • Planning 15 years ahead: Amsterdam actively involves all utility providers to map out future plans and co-create underground infrastructure layouts.
  • Using standard ways of working in the underground (WIOR) and a standardised scheme for subsurface infrastructure planning: These frameworks help assess available underground space and guide decisions when concessions are necessary.
  • Embracing alternative methods: Stacking pipelines instead of placing them side-by-side, drilling under roads, or clustering transport cables in walls or consolidated zones are all viable options.

Sometimes, this requires deviating from standard spacing requirements. Such exceptions are only made with strong justification and agreement at the decision-making level.

A fresh look at Haarlemmermeer’s challenges

Participants from Haarlemmermeer acknowledged that they face several pressing issues. With limited space in the underground and a lack of an integrated planning framework, it is difficult to make informed, long-term decisions. Three villages in the municipality are particularly challenging due to their narrow streets and aging infrastructure.

Key challenges included:

  • Underestimating the space needed for district heating infrastructure (including expansion loops, communication lines, and insulation).
  • Rigid adherence to guidelines, which may not always be feasible locally.
  • A missing coordinating role to oversee all the different parties operating in the underground to facilitate collaboration.

Shared lessons, shared responsibility

The session made clear that while every context is different, the challenges of underground infrastructure for district heating are shared across municipalities. The city of Amsterdam is a bit further ahead than Haarlemmermeer, and their expertise was already tremendously helpful. The Amsterdam case shows that smart, flexible planning—backed by clear coordination of all parties active in the underground —can lead to effective, long-term solutions.

Now the task for Haarlemmermeer is to translate these insights into concrete next steps. As one participant concluded, “We need to move from awareness to action.”

Would you like to learn more about this topic? Please contact Noor at noor@amsterdaminchange.com.

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Noor Veenhoven, Program manager energy & circularity at Amsterdam InChange, posted

Demoday #27: What is ethical mobile software for your phone?

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We depend heavily on Big Tech companies like Google, Meta, Apple, Amazon, and more. And with your smartphone, there is no escaping them. Even if you don’t use social media, and use anti-tracking software, some of your data will still be shared and sold. This can make you feel pretty uncomfortable. Especially, since most of these tech companies are in the USA and China. This is why, in this session, we worked on the question: Is it possible to develop mobile software which is ethical and functional?

Danny Lämmerhirt from Waag Futurelab works on the MOBIFREE project. This project aims to change the development and use of mobile software in Europe by citizens, businesses, non-profits and governments. In doing so, they want to support the emerging movement for ethical mobile software consisting of organisations that adhere to European values such as openness, privacy, digital sovereignty, fairness, collaboration, sustainability, and inclusivity.

In this session, Danny introduced us to the smartphone they are working on. This smartphone has its hardware from Fairphone (an ethically produced smartphone) and uses a privacy-friendly operating system: Murena. This operating system is an Android fork that doesn’t come with standard tracking software. On top of that, it has an app store with only ethical apps and is connected to an ethical European cloud.

Outcomes

We discussed with the group what values we found most important in an ethical mobile phone when using it for work. The values that were deemed most important by the group were:
- Autonomy: A smartphone allows working wherever and whenever you want. It is an incredibly powerful tool that you can use for so many different things, and it fits in your pocket.
- Independency: We’ve become incredibly dependent on our smartphones. When you lose your phone, you no longer have your money, your public transport card, a map to find the way, etc. On the other hand, this also means that you don’t need to travel with a bag full of tools every time you leave the house.
- Privacy: Constantly being tracked has become normal, but that doesn't mean we’re happy with it. Right now, you don’t have a choice. It would be nice to have a choice, to either pay with your data, or with money.
- User-friendliness: An ethical and privacy-friendly smartphone sounds great, but it also means that you can no longer use many of the apps that you’re used to. Will it still be practical to use? And will it be intuitive? We are all used to a certain way of working and are hesitant to change.

This discussion was definitely food for thought. We all want a more ethical phone, but are not willing to sacrifice much in return…

Are you interested in trying out this ethical smartphone? The MOBIFREE project is currently looking for people who can test this smartphone. They are looking for young adults, civil servants, mobile software developers, and professionals working in humanitarian organisations.

<strong>Would you like to participate, or do you have any questions about this project? Please contact Noor at noor@amsterdaminchange.com. Special thanks to Danny Lämmerhirt for this interesting session.</strong>

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Noor Veenhoven, Program manager energy & circularity at Amsterdam InChange, posted

27 Charging Hubs Challenge

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How can 27 government-owned buildings in Amsterdam create charging hubs despite grid congestion? Since the beginning of this year, these buildings have been under the management and maintenance of SPIE. Recognising the potential challenges posed by grid congestion, SPIE has brought forward this issue to explore viable solutions. While immediate capacity may not always be available, innovative approaches — such as smart charging strategies, optimized energy management within the buildings, or, in critical cases, the use of generators — can make implementation possible. To achieve this, collaboration is key. With this challenge, we aim to form a consortium of partners who can work together to develop scalable solutions for any scenario.

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Noor Veenhoven, Program manager energy & circularity at Amsterdam InChange, posted

Demoday #23: Co-creating with residents in the heat transition

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The heat transition is in full swing. Municipalities want their residents off the gas and want them to switch to renewable sources of heat. Unfortunately, heat grids have often led to frustrated residents. Which in turn has led to delayed or cancelled plans for the municipality.

Dave van Loon and Marieke van Doorninck (Kennisland) have looked into the problems surrounding heat grids and came up with a plan. In this Demoday work-session we dived into the problems surrounding heat grids and their plan to solve them. The session was moderated by our own Leonie van Beuken.

Why residents get frustrated with heat grid plans

Involving residents in the planning of a heat grid is difficult. It takes a lot of time and effort and the municipality is often in a hurry. This is why they choose for a compromise in which they already make the plan, but try to involve citizens at the end part. However, this leads to residents not having anything to say in the plans. They can block the plans, but they can’t really make changes. This leads to a lot of dissatisfaction.

This top-down approach doesn't seem to be ideal for involving residents in the heat transition. That's why Kennisland is working on developing a plan for early collaboration with residents in the heat transition of neighbourhoods, with a focus on connecting with the community's concerns.

They have seen that this kind of approach can be successful by looking at the K-buurt in Amsterdam-Zuid-Oost. In the initial stages, the first plan for the K-buurt didn't gain much traction. However, when they shifted towards a more collaborative approach, people felt empowered to engage, leading to a more meaningful participation process. Instead of traditional town hall meetings, discussions took place in community spaces like the local barber shop. This shift towards genuine participation and co-creation has resulted in a much-improved end product, one that residents truly support and believe in.

The plan for co-creation in the heat transition

The plan that Kennisland came up with consists of a few key points that are necessary for success:
• Engage with residents early on in the process.
• Also consider other issues in the neighbourhood. There might be more pressing concerns for the residents themselves.
• Ensure accessibility for everyone to participate.
• Truly collaborate on developing a list of requirements.
• Harness creativity.
• Work in a less compartmentalized manner.
They aim to form a neighbourhood alliance and organize a community council. Together a plan can be made for the neighbourhood that all residents can get behind.
This plan might take a bit longer at the start, but that investment in time will pay itself back in the end.

SWOT analysis of co-creation plan

After Dave and Marieke explained their plan we did a SWOT analysis with the group. We looked at the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of the plan.

The main strength that was pointed out was the ability to make a plan together with the residents. The residents experience the neighbourhood differently than a government official, which makes the final plan more beneficial to everyone.

The weaknesses the group saw in the plan were mainly that this could potentially slow down the process. Should we maybe do less participation instead of more and use force to get this heat transition going?

There were a lot of opportunities identified for this plan. The quality of the plan (and the neighbourhood) can greatly increase. By slowing down at the start we can actually accelerate and improve the neighbourhood on many levels. This plan also offers a great learning experience.

Finally, we went into the threats. One of the big threats that was pointed out was the lack of trust. If residents don’t trust the municipality and the process then it will never be possible to let this plan succeed. The explanation to residents also needs to be understandable. The explanation around a heat grid can get technical very quickly, and residents often don’t have the background to understand everything. The last threat that was pointed out was that if you get a lot of input from the residents for the plan, you also have to do something with that, and still be realistic. You have to work hard to manage expectations.

We completed the session by asking the participants if they knew any partners and places to collaborate with for this plan, or if they had any other ideas to make this plan successful.

We would now like to ask the same questions to you! Do you know someone who would like to partner up with Kennisland, do you know a place where this plan can be tested, or do you have any other ideas? Let us know by contacting me at noor@amsterdamsmartcity.com.

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