Unconference Energie & Klimaat | 15 May 2025
Your ideas, your topics, your stage. The Unconference is not your typical conference with a fixed program—it's a dynamic, participant-led event where you decide what's on the agenda. Whether you're full of ideas or eager to connect and learn, this is the perfect opportunity to share, collaborate and explore the key challenges and innovations in Energy & Climate.

What can you expect?
The program is created on the spot. You can propose a topic and lead one of the parallel sessions—no preparation needed, just your story and experience. The sessions are short, focused and interactive. You'll learn from like-minded entrepreneurs and professionals, while expanding your network with new and valuable connections. We'll feature several guest speakers who share practical insights to inspire and spark discussions.

Your hosts
The Unconference is hosted by InnovationQuarter and facilitated by Bart Doorneweert, an experienced entrepreneur and educator with a strong background in technology communities.

Program:
12:30 | Lunch and registration
13:00 | Plenary Introduction
13:15 | Planning of the break-out sessions
14:00 | First round of break-outs (two rounds of three sessions)
15:00 | Coffee break
15:30 | Second round of break-out sessions (three rounds of three sessions)
17:00 | Plenary closing and drinks

When and where?
Date: 15 May 2025
Time: 12:30 - 17:00h
Location: CIC Rotterdam (Stationsplein 45, 4th floor, 3013 AK Rotterdam)

Places are limited, so make sure to join this inspiring afternoon!

On this day there will be lots of possibilities to introduce the topics that are top of mind for you in terms of challenges or experiences that are worth sharing and discussing with other participants. The aim of the unconference is to connect mainly entrepenteurs with each other, but also with ecosystem partners like the fieldlabs, permit experts and investment managers. All within the domain of Energy and Circularity.

Here’s a selection of the sessions hosts that have already committed to organise a session:

Onno Bierhoff (CEO at GEHECO) 
Session: The art of positioning yourself in the ecosystem - sharing experiences
“Planned serendipity can help you transform ecosystem thinking into ecosystem action, and you can use this to accelerate your startup growth” 
 

Saul Oost (CEO at HyER Power) 
Session: We found the right customer; now we need to tackle challenges with standardization
"We started by jumping on every opportunity, along the way we learned to focus and target very specifically the customer segment with the best opportunity for us. Now we face a new challenge, standardization of the product" 

Gijs-Jan Moest (CEO at Rator)
Valuate your pre-revenue company
“Bring your term‑sheet war stories, metrics hacks, and creative cap‑table twists. Let’s crowd‑source a valuation playbook Rator (and the rest of us) can use.”
Rator - a radiator that runs on a heat pump—wants your help:
How do you craft a credible valuation before the first euro of revenue? What actually shifts once the cash register rings? And how can supplier or installer partnerships translate into equity value?

Mike Theunissen (Investment analyst at UNIIQ, InnovationQuarter)
Through the lens of an investor
"We think in green, orange and red flags, lets discuss some typical VC dilemma's."
Mike and Pjotr van Schothorst (Climate tech investor) will share typical VC dilemma’s. Join the discussion about green, orange and red flags from the perspective of the investor.

 

Daniel Buhagiar (CEO at FLASC)
Converting Customers from Interest to Investment
FLASC has excelled in customer discovery, conducting in-depth conversations and developing clear value propositions for their offshore energy storage solution. Now, they face the challenge of converting these insights into real customer commitment.  Daniel will share their journey to customer insight and invite your strategies for securing early-stage commitments in the renewable energy sector. Join us to exchange ideas on moving from interest to investment in emerging technologies.

Boukje Wolfs (Broker at Vergunningenloods Rotterdam)  
Session: Permitting: share your challenges with the expert
“We need to learn how to speak the same language, my experience with entrepreneurs and the authorities taught me how to ask the right questions, and has shown that the permitting trajectories for the energy transition can be complex and subject to unknowns” 

 Share your permitting challenges beforehand with Boukje if you have them:  send them to matthijs.damm@innovationquarter.nl and put [Unconference permitting challenges] <company name> in the subject!

 

Jacqueline Schardijn (Consortiumbuilder at InnovationQuarter)
Session: Finding your consortium to create success
"Building a consortium is creative cooking with the ingredients at hand."

 

Thinking of hosting a session yourself? Feel free to pitch your session idea at the event. There will still be plenty of sessions slots available. Need help shaping your session? Just hit reply and ask us.