Are you a graduate student (HBO or university level) passionate about energy transition, sustainability and our future food system? Join our new Thesis Lab and help shape the future of energy in the horticulture sector, together with Glastuinbouw Nederland and the Dutch horticulture sector. This is your opportunity to contribute to the transition of one of the Netherlands’ most energy-intensive industries, while gaining valuable experience in addressing real-world challenges.
The greenhouse horticulture sector is at a crucial crossroad. Despite already taking steps towards sustainability, this sector still relies heavily on natural gas, accounting for 9% of Dutch natural gas consumption while producing 11% of the country’s electricity. With a commitment to becoming climate neutral by 2040, the sector faces the challenge of transitioning to a sustainable and circular energy future without compromising its economic viability.
In the upcoming Thesis Lab 'The Future of Energy in the Horticulture Sector' 2024-2025, you will tackle one specific research question, focusing on a key aspect of this energy transition. A few examples:
- Sustainability (energy technology, industrial ecology): Evaluate alternative energy sources from a sustainability perspective. What definitions and impacts are crucial for achieving true energy neutrality?
- Organization (management, policy sciences): Investigate how the sector’s energy provision should be organized in the future. Should there be a single integrated supplier, or is competition between energy providers more effective?
- Effects on National Energy System (technology): Assess the impact of the horticulture sector’s energy transition on the national electricity grid and its potential role in a future hydrogen-based energy system.
- Relation with the Future of the Rotterdam Harbor Region (industrial ecology, geography): Examine the potential for using waste heat from the Rotterdam Harbor to meet the horticulture sector’s energy needs. How viable is this solution in the long term?
- Public Opinion (sociology, communication and media sciences): Address the legitimacy challenges facing the horticulture sector. How can a sustainable roadmap improve public perception and how should the sector communicate its efforts?
- Industrial Organization (economics, management): Investigate the impact of alternative energy systems on the organization of the horticulture subsectors, including consolidation, scale, and internationalization.
This Thesis Lab offers you the chance to working alongside industry experts and academic supervisors to develop innovative solutions for the future of energy in horticulture. Registrations will open in September.
Follow our website and socials for to stay up to date and take a look at the previous thesis labs (2023-2024).
What is a Thesis Lab?
A team of 10 to 14 graduating students from various programs in South Holland work on a sustainability challenge from Glastuinbouw Nederland and partners. These students work on their own graduation project (within their program) and follow a six-month program between February and June 2025, consisting of 12 sessions where they delve deeper into the complex challenge of the Lab. The program includes, among other things, workplace visits, round table discussions with guest speakers, and workshops. During the final meeting, the students present their (collective) results to partners from the industry
Questions?
Please contact Esther van der Ent (LDE_CfS@cml.leidenuniv.nl))