RWE Offshore Wind

Well-attended pitch breakfast at the Amer Power plant

A speaker addresses an attentive audience in a modern conference room with tables and chairs arranged for a presentation.
A group of professionals engaging in conversation around a table with pastries and coffee in a modern office setting.

17.10.2024

Nearly 100 visitors attended the iTanks Pitch breakfast at RWE’s Amercentrale on October 17, where four start-ups delivered lightning pitches about their innovations in system integration.

At 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 17, nearly a hundred participants gathered at RWE’s Amercentrale in Geertruidenberg to take part in the iTanks Pitch Breakfast. During this session, attendees learned about system integration, innovations in energy storage, and a vision for a sustainable energy system of the future. RWE aimed to showcase the challenges of system integration and how the company is addressing these through the OranjeWind wind farm project and the various innovations involved.  

The breakfast began with a keynote on system integration by Arjan van der Stelt, Head of Knowledge Management & Change at RWE. He addressed the question: "How does RWE ensure a perfect match between offshore wind power and onshore electricity demand with the OranjeWind project?" Follow-ing the keynote, four innovative start-ups—FLASC, Ocean Grazer, Verlume, and AE-WaveHexapod—delivered quick pitches on their respective innovations.  

One of the pitching start-ups, Verlume, develops subsea battery solutions. Their system is part of the OranjeWind project, where their lithium-ion battery will help balance energy output by mitigating generation peaks. Additionally, the battery will enable hybrid or fully electric maintenance vessels to recharge at the wind farm, further reducing the project’s carbon footprint. Graceann Robertson, Mar-keting Manager at Verlume, said, “This pitch breakfast was a unique opportunity for Verlume to pre-sent our products to a broader audience.”

Over coffee and croissants, attendees networked after the pitches. Bas Jansen, Program Manager of OranjeWind Knowledge, shared his thoughts: “We were thrilled with the turnout, especially given the early hour. It shows that system integration is a crucial topic in the energy transition and that there is significant interest in innovations offering solutions.”