Fuel assisted electrolysis has the advantage of reducing the power demand of hydrogen production by solid oxide electrolysis with the help of assisting fuel. This thesis presents a feasibility study on the use of biogas fuelled solid oxide fuel assisted electrolysis (SOFEC) for hydrogen production on an industrial scale. The biogas is supplied as a source of hydrogen to the anode of the solid oxide electrolyser where hydrogen gets oxidised and provides electrons for the steam splitting taking place at the cathode. This results in upgrading of biogas to hydrogen and reduction in the electrical power demand. However, steam reforming of biogas (methane) is an endothermic reaction and hence,
heat has to be supplied externally.
The SOFEC system is modelled in Cycle Tempo and the modelling results are used to perform the feasibility study based on technical, economic and social aspects. Further, to corroborate the results from the study, a case study scenario of integration of SOFEC in a steelmill is presented.
With regard to technical aspects, the SOFEC cathode and electrolyte materialswere found to be in practice commercially, adequate biogas supply could be ensured by biogas production at waste water treatment plants and heat supply from high temperature waste heat sources was proposed to meet heat demand of methane reforming. Based on these conditions, the SOFEC system has high prospect of being technically feasible.
Further, for economic analysis, the net production cost of SOFEC was estimated to be less than 4.5 Eur/kg H2 which is lower than that of low temperature (7.32 Eur/kg H2) and high temperature electrolysis (5.54Eur/kg H2). Considering high temperature heat, recovered from molten slags in steel mills, being used as heat supply followed by a predicted drop in electrolyser capital costs, the SOFEC is able to compete with lower production costs of steam methane reforming (3 Eur/kg H2). Thus, low electrolyser capital costs and availability of low cost waste heat supply are the main driving factors for SOFEC to be economical.
In social aspects, the operational safety and social acceptance of SOFEC were investigated. It was concluded that for hydrogen storage challenges, existing commercial hydrogen storage solutions can work and with hydrogen fuel cells being socially accepted, the SOFEC was assumed to be accepted the same. Also the SOFEC was shown to have low CO2 (2 kg CO2 equivalent / kg H2) and low SO2 emissions provided sufficient desulfurisation of biogas is done. Therefore, it is concluded that the SOFEC has high potential to be socially feasible.
Although, the SOFEC has been presented to be a feasible technology, uncertainties
such as degradation in performance due to interruptions in biogas supply, absence of anode materials which can withstand reducing environments, absence of low cost high temperature heat and high costs of electrolyser systems are obstacles which have to be resolved.

Electricity generation in a Direct Carbon Fuel Cell has thermodynamic advantages over conventional methods, because the DCFC is not limited by the Carnot efficiency. This thesis analyzes and models a DCFC where the electrochemical oxidation of carbon to carbon monoxide is taken into account, which is an endothermic reaction. The heat necessary for this reaction is converted directly into electricity, so the DCFC can achieve a theoretical reversible efficiency of >100%. The heat is provided by a solar reactor, which converts methane into hydrogen and solid carbon by thermal decomposition. The formed solid carbon particles is fuel for the DCFC. The produced CO at the anode of the DCFC is used in a WGS reactor where it reacts with steam to form hydrogen. In this way we present a Multi-Source Multi-Product energy system. The MSMP energy system is modelled in Cycle Tempo and we use the modelling results to perform a feasibility study and exergy analysis. The exergy analysis showed that the solar reactor contributes the most to the total exergy losses in the system. Considering the fact that the WGS reactor is a mature technology, the solar reactor is based on existing technology (CSP), and solutions to challenges in heat handling and mass transfer are available in the process industry, the MSMP energy system has high potential to be technically feasible. We calculated that the unknown costs of the MSMP energy system need to be lower than 29.8 €/MWhp to be competitive with conventional hydrogen production methods and need to be lower than 34.8 €/MWhp to be competitive with a gas fired plant. Based on current market prices for methane, hydrogen and electricity in Algeria and based on the fact that we were able to determine the costs of the majority of components in the MSMP energy system, it is likely that the unknown costs will not exceed our determined maximum unknown costs. This shows the economic feasibility potential. We calculated that the MSMP energy system emits 37% less CO2 than hydrogen production by steam reforming which indicates the sustainable potential. We concluded that the concept favors a geographical location with high solar density, good gas infrastructure and stable politics. Algeria seemed to meet all those demands. Therefore we conclude that our MSMP energy system has high potential to be socially feasible. We concluded that our MSMP energy system has high potential to be technically, economically and socially feasible.

In recent years, development of a concept from the mid- 1970's has led to the emergence of Airborne Wind Energy Systems (AWES). Currently the AWES sector encompasses dozens of companies that are developing a range of concepts of, more or less automated, flying wings attached to a tether which convert wind energy to electricity. At the time of this writing however, AWE as a technology discipline is still in early stages of development; not a single company has been capable of producing a commercially ready system. This phase, where the primary goal is to commercialise technology, is described as the 'valley of death' as here the risk of failure is high. In literature this phase has gathered attention from a policy perspective, however the perspective of the entrepreneur is scarcely researched. This research will attempt to find an answer to the problems that entrepreneurs encounter in the valley of death.

The valley of death is defined as: A phase that occurs during commercialisation of technology where a combination of long and costly development and a lack of resources cause an environment where the risk of failure is high for organisations to introduce the first commercial product.This definition, combined with a literature review on challenges that are likely to occur in this phase, forms the context that defines the strategies.In four expert interviews with private sector investors and experienced entrepreneurs, this context is discussed. The findings from these interviews are combined with insights from literature to identify three likely challenges: 1) technology uncertainty, which is caused by the inherent complexity of hardware development and production, which result in long and costly development. 2) market uncertainty, which is caused by difficulties in matching technology characteristics to market needs, hesitance by other stakeholders or competing against an incumbent regime and 3) lack of financial resources, which is the result of high costs during the commercialisation of hardware technology and a tendency to under invest by the private sector. In order to identify a possible way to deal with these answers findings from a separate literature review and from the four expert interviews are combined. From this, eight strategies emerge.The findings in this analysis show that activities belonging to all seven functions are found in the AWES TIS. Possible barriers are found in functions five and six. There is little to no market formation, only through technology push by the entrepreneurs. Resources are considered scarce for development and AWES technology development is costly and long. These barriers are similar to the challenges and characteristics of the valley of death.

Concluding on the main research question the valley of death was redefined from the perspective of the technology developer, including multiple perspectives. It is characterised by a low availability of resources and organisations that develop hardware based technology are at risk of failing to commercialise. By identifying and testing common strategies for their applicability this research was able to provide a way to reduce the risk of failure in this phase. Start-ups that develop new technologies must prioritise commercialisation of their technology by focusing on minimum development towards specific needs in order to generate revenue. However, for hardware based innovation external resources are needed to fund development. By demonstrating the ability to find value these start-ups increase the chance to appeal to investors in the private sector and secure the necessary funding.

A large portion of the global population, mostly in the Sub-Saharan African region, still has no access to electricity. Due to the remoteness and limited accessibility of some communities, off-grid solutions such as mini-grids are required to electrify these regions. An essential part of such an isolated mini-grid is the energy storage system. DC Opportunities aims to establish these mini-grids as a third step in the electrification process. As a means of energy storage, the small-scale employment of the mature technology of pumped hydro storage (PHS) should be explored, making use of height differences in terrain often present in these areas. While PHS is the most common energy storage technology, it has thus far only be employed on a large scale and only recently research on its small scale applicability has been gaining ground.
In order to conduct a feasibility study on the use of PHS as a means of energy storage for isolated mini-grids in low-resource settings, such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa, local challenges are identified. These include a suitable operating range, quality of supply and power issues, limited component and material availability, potential arrival of the main grid, funding, low tariffs and revenue, a low-trust society, limited technical skills, theft and vandalism, political vertical networks and corruption, regulatory issues, secondary water use and environmental impact. Based on these challenges, a program of requirements is presented, which consider the technical, economic and socio-cultural requirements.
Subsequently, the available design options are discussed, and based on the program of requirements a technical design synthesis leads to a provisional technical design. This exploration has led to the conclusion that earth dam reservoirs should be used for the water storage system, Glass Reinforced Plastic or Mild Steel pipes for the water conveyance system and a binary unit utilizing a Pump-as-Turbine or a ternary unit employing a Pelton turbine for the powerhouse configuration; this configuration can be either designed for an one-time installation or scalable installation. Based on the provisional technical design and the local challenges, an organizational structure, using the existing local power structure, ensures the PHS plant embeds itself in the community through community involvement and participation, as well as local capacity building by the project facilitator. The capacity requirements of the reservoir, as well as the diameter and material of the penstock, and the powerhouse configuration appear to be highly dependent on site-specific conditions. Therefore an energy flow model was developed, which in combination with a penstock selection tool and a generated demand profile is able to determine the requirements of a Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS) utilising PHS as its main component for an isolated mini-grid. This model has been deployed for a case study in Adi Araha, Ethiopia, yielding positive results. Further exploration into the economic implications of the modeled system, and socio-cultural factors to be considered for the case study, led to the conclusion that for the case study a PHS plant could prove to be a technically, economically and socially feasible solution. Further research is however warranted, specifically on site.
The developed model was further employed to attain a conclusion on the general economic feasibility. While the socio-cultural factors are very site specific and can not easily be generalized, the results exhibit that for a situation where the gross head is at least 250 meter, and preferably around 300 meter, and the maximum power output requirements of the PHS plant is at least 150 kilowatt, technical and economic feasibility is attainable. Isolated mini-grids requiring a storage solutions, adhering to these conditions, should thus be further investigated to more accurately determine the feasibility of a small pumped hydro storage plant.

The European Commission published the “EU action plan for the Circular Economy” in 2015, the Dutch government strives for a circular Netherlands before the year 2050 (Rijksoverheid, 2016) and Rotterdam aims for circularity as the norm in 2030 (Rotterdam Circulair, 2018). To reach these goals, set by governmental organisations, change is required in all levels of society: individuals, municipalities, companies and other types of organisations. This master thesis focuses on the role of companies in the transition towards a circular economy. Companies often have limited insights in their circular performance. A current state analysis is needed to set realistic targets and keep track of the progress. Currently, there is a lack of workable tools that facilitate this analysis. For such a tool to contribute to the acceleration of the progress towards a circular economy, it is considered of great importance that it is easy in use and stimulates the user to action. This research developed a self-assessment rubric to create insights in the circular performance of an individual company. A case study was conducted for the Dutch plastics industry. The result was tested in cooperation with three companies and the results proved to generate relevant insights.

Contractors can be stimulated to offer sustainable product innovations through tenders in the GWW sector. But despite the sustainability ambitions of clients to achieve a 100% circular economy by 2050 and sustainably generated energy in the Netherlands, contractors are hindered from being able to offer sustainable product innovations by clients. To make recommendations to clients to optimize the preparation phase of public procurement. In order to contribute to this, it is made clear how contractors can be stimulated by investigating the influential (external) factors of the tender phase that can stimulate contractors to offer sustainable product innovations with a TRL level 7-9 during the tender phase.

In the Netherlands, the residential building sector accounts for 20% of energy consumption and 14% of carbon emissions. To reach the ambitious National targets of decreasing energy consumption and to stop this sector’s reliance on natural gas, a wide renovation of the building stock is needed. Residential buildings’ energy performance has to improve, approximately 7 million dwellings need costly renovations. To meet the National targets the number of yearly renovations should steeply increase from how it is currently.
This research makes use of the theories of business model and business model innovation to tackle this issue, evaluating how companies offering energy efficiency renovations should adjust their business model in order to improve their effectiveness, therefore unlocking energy efficiency renovations for Dutch residential buildings. This study is one of the first to investigate this topic relative to the Dutch market. The thesis report contributes to the studies and research about business model and business models innovations to stimulate energy efficiency in residential buildings.

Texel has signed a shared ambition manifesto together with the other Dutch Wadden Islands, which states that they desire to reach full self-succiciency in terms of water and (renewable) energy by 2020. It is safe to assume that neither of these ambitions will be reached in time on Texel. Because technical limitations are not necessarily the reason for this, the question why is studied through theories of governance of change. This thesis has two goals. The first goal is to create an analytical framework to analyze processes of governance of change in socio-technical systems. The second is to apply this framework on the socio-technical energy- and water systems on Texel in order to learn about how the governance of change has contributed to the current state of these systems, compared to Texel's ambitions.

What was learned from Texel is that the successfulness of strategies in the governance of change depends on the nature and context of the system. For example: mobilizing people to found energy cooperation TexelEnergie was successful because the energy market in place allowed an opportunity for such an initiative to work. Secondly, the Texel Core Values could be successfully utilized to shift the direction of change from windmills and bio- fermentation to solar energy and energy savings, because the decentralized nature of the system allowed social actors to guide change on their own terms, based on the cultural values of Texel. In contrast, in the water system these strategies would not work because the drinking water market is closed and regulated by governmental actors, meaning that there is no opportunity present for societal actors to mobilize and start producing their own drinking water. In that regard, legitimacy for change is absent since they depend on the support of drinking water company PWN, which is merely concerned with providing a reliable drinking water infrastructure and is legally bound to provide this in the most cost-effective and safe way possible. Hence, they are not interested in changing the existing centralized drinking water system towards a system where drinking water is produced on the island, simply because it is desired by Texel.

This thesis covered a dual case study where the governance of change in the socio-technical energy and water systems on Texel was analyzed. Generalization from single case studies is a controversial topic and requires extrapolation that can never be fully justified because findings are always embedded within a context. In this study, the findings from the previous section are embedded in a specific context that is unique to Texel. Because of this it would be premature to express any generalistic and legitimate conclusions about governance of change in socio-technical systems based on the findings of these case studies alone. Such claims warrant similar analysis of other socio-technical systems, preferably also water and energy systems but in different settings (settings here referring to different locations or communities). This is proposed as topics for future research.