The accelerating energy transition in the Netherlands, driven by stringent climate targets and a rapid expansion of renewable energy, has created severe congestion in the national electricity grid. This thesis explores energy hubs as a promising solution to alleviate grid congestion, enabling the flexible, local integration of renewable energy resources. Energy hubs coordinate generation, storage, and consumption of multiple energy carriers through shared infrastructure, offering resilience and efficiency while supporting decarbonization goals. Hydrogen, with its long-duration storage capabilities and sector-coupling potential, is identified as a critical enabler within these hubs. However, widespread implementation faces significant regulatory, market, and technological uncertainties, compounded by challenges in social acceptance and governance. This research, conducted in collaboration with Arup’s Business Investment Advisory team, employs a Double Diamond design framework to analyze these uncertainties and co-create strategic pathways for implementation. Methods included stakeholder interviews, case study comparisons, participatory workshops, and scenario planning. The resulting strategic roadmap proposes iterative, transparent collaboration supported by data-driven tools such as an Energy Hub Opportunity Map. The roadmap is supported by developed KPIs, that make the roadmap actionable for relevant stakeholders. The findings highlight that energy hubs, underpinned by participatory design and equitable governance models, can bridge gaps between policy ambition and practical system constraints, transforming local energy systems into dynamic, flexible, and inclusive networks capable of reducing grid congestion and accelerating the energy transition.

The Netherlands is in the middle of the transformation of the energy system. As electricity demand and (decentralized) renewable electricity generation grow, the electricity grid is increasingly facing congestion. This threatens the pace of electrification, business growth, and sustainability ambitions. Energy hubs (EHs), local and decentralized energy systems, have emerged as a potential solution, especially if they include battery storage. This helps local balancing and efficiency. However, the development of these EHs, including storage on Dutch business terrains, is lagging behind.

This research shows that the lack of collaboration, due to misalignment of interests of network operators (DSOs) and and EH collectives, is a critical factor that delays the development of EHs. This research explores how design, especially strategic and participatory design, can play a role in addressing these challenges. The goal is to understand how collaboration between DSOs and EH collectives can be designed to facilitate battery storage integration in Dutch business terrains. This is done through a literature review, stakeholder interviews, and participatory co-creative workshops.

The literature review showed that EHs can be considered to consist of four interconnected elements: technology, organization, regulation and finance. Each element influences the others, revealing a web of dependencies that must be managed strategically, as battery operations can also pose a risk for grid congestion. Interviews showed that actors in the system differ in drivers and barriers. Four main tensions were identified:
- Operational control of batteries,
- Capacity allocation,
- Risk allocation,
- Uncertainties in emerging contracts

Co-creative workshops with different stakeholders offered a way to discuss these tensions and align interests. In the workshop, two decision-making scenarios were explored and evaluated: DSO-led flexibility and EH-led flexibility. Results showed that stakeholders generally preferred a hybrid future, where DSOs act as facilitators and the EHs have control over battery use. Participants emphasized the need for EH authority, mutual trust, fairness of compensation and reliability of the systems. The workshop also revealed boundary conditions to achieve these needed values and move toward grid integration of battery-based EHs. Based on these insights, two tools to support EH developers, DSOs, and regulators in navigating the complexity have been developed:

- A morphological chart that shows options of the EH configuration
- A roadmap showing steps for each aspect of the EH toward system integration

This thesis contributes to the energy transition by offering a deeper understanding of the problem, a shared vision for the preferred future, and clear requirements to achieve it.

This thesis explores a service design intervention aimed at enhancing the Dutch hydrogen market by increasing social participation. The project focuses on integrating hydrogen into the Dutch energy system across sectors such as transportation, heating, industry, and power. The research delineates hydrogen’s role as a key energy carrier for decarbonization. Through interviews with industry experts and analysis of the hydrogen supply chain, barriers and opportunities that hydrogen encountered were identified. Employing various systemic design methods, the thesis analyzed system dynamics and identified three leverage points, generating four intervention ideas. The final design focuses on a service that enables households to convert excess solar electricity into hydrogen, which can be used for other services, supporting grid congestion management and promoting hydrogen adoption.

This project delves into the intricate challenges and potential opportunities within the Dutch hydrogen ecosystem as the country strives to meet its ambitious goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The research highlights several significant barriers to the widespread adoption of renewable hydrogen, such as high production costs, financial risks, and the lack of sufficient infrastructure. These challenges have created a “chicken and egg” scenario in the market, where both hydrogen suppliers and off-takers are hesitant to commit without guarantees from the other side, stalling progress in the development of the hydrogen economy.
To address these issues, the study proposes the development of Local Hydrogen Networks (LHNs). These networks are envisioned as clusters of industries within specific regions that are connected to hydrogen suppliers, who use renewable energy sources like wind and solar to power electrolysers. By localising hydrogen production and distribution, these networks can tailor infrastructure to meet regional needs, reduce costs, and stimulate demand. LHNs also offer the added benefit of being scalable, allowing for gradual implementation that aligns with the existing infrastructure and market conditions.
A critical component of this project is the development of HySynth, an interactive online tool designed to facilitate the adoption of green hydrogen. HySynth provides stakeholders with clear, data-driven visualisations of hydrogen infrastructure, including the locations of potential off-takers and current projects. By making complex data more accessible and understandable, HySynth aims to foster greater collaboration among stakeholders, helping to align interests and reduce the risks associated with investing in hydrogen projects.
The project highlights the importance of regional collaboration and strategic partnerships as essential elements in overcoming the current inertia in the hydrogen market. By focusing on localised solutions and enhancing stakeholder engagement through data visualisation, the research contributes to the development of a more robust and integrated hydrogen infrastructure.

The imperative to address climate change has led to a critical need for transformation within the Dutch energy system. Recent efforts have focused on decentralisation and innovative technologies to steer towards a fossil-free future. Hydrogen energy emerges as a pivotal contender with potential benefits at all societal levels. This study delves into the emergence of small-scale hydrogen networks (SHNs), localised systems serving specific regions or communities. Amidst the prominence of large-scale projects, these smaller endeavours play a pivotal, yet often overlooked, role in realizing the energy transition. However, understanding these sociotechnical systems remains challenging due to the early stages of the hydrogen transition and limited research on small-scale integration. Utilizing a qualitative interpretive research approach, this thesis uncovers contextual factors influencing SHN formation. Following a problem-focused design science research strategy, the study outlines the three pillars of SHNs - technology, actors, and institutional landscape - with a focus on the Goeree-Overflakkee case. Insights into barriers and enablers for SHN formation are pivotal. The value chain, categorised into upstream (production), midstream (storage and transportation), and downstream (usage), is explored. Furthermoe, actor analysis is employed to identify, categorise, and analyse roles and interrelations. Williamson's four-layer model is applied to examine the institutional landscape. Results highlight significant barriers, including regulatory gaps, negative business cases, and limited capacities. Complex actor interactions, financial constraints, and expertise shortages further impede progress. Enablers such as an innovative organisational culture, synergy creation, and vital local government support emerge as critical facilitators. The study emphasises the significance of incremental steps, adaptive management, and flexible legal frameworks in integrating SHNs. Through a lens of technology, actors, and institutional context, this research provides valuable insights into SHN enablers and barriers in the Dutch context.