Over the past five years, countless innovation projects, venues and facilities have been established, and collaborations such as European Electricity Week and the National Centre of Expertise on Grid Congestion have emerged – initiatives that would not otherwise have got off the ground. Furthermore, talent, innovation and entrepreneurship have been literally interconnected by placing the entrepreneur and their solution at the centre.
A foundation in the right place
In April 2021, Connectr was officially launched as an initiative of the Province of Gelderland, the Municipality of Arnhem, HAN University of Applied Sciences and Cleantech Park Arnhem. The location was no coincidence. The Arnhem industrial park was already home to dozens of companies working on the energy of tomorrow. What was missing was the connection: a place where an entrepreneur with a good idea has direct access to knowledge, testing facilities and talent. That same year, ground was broken for the Connectr Innovation Lab, in a factory building dating from 1941 where synthetic fibres were once manufactured.
More than just square metres
In June 2022, ElaadNL became the first user to move into the Innovation Lab, which houses a European test site for smart charging infrastructure. In November of that year, the Connectr Shared Office opened: the place where entrepreneurs, research institutions and public authorities meet on a daily basis. Perhaps the most important square metres at Connectr. Because the best collaborations don’t happen in meeting rooms, but by the coffee machine. At the end of 2022, the first community was also launched: Heavy Duty Charging, where market players, research institutions and public authorities are working together to tackle the charging challenges facing heavy goods transport.
HAN@connectr
From a location to an ecosystem
The foundation was laid, and the residents arrived. Companies such as Milence, Hedgehoc, Hyosung, Rift and many others set up in the region and shared their facilities wherever possible. HAN’s labs were brought together under one roof as HAN@connectr, where hundreds of students work daily on real-world challenges posed by real companies. The community model proved its worth and continued to grow: Heavy Duty Charging was followed by Thermal Energy Systems and Urban Energy Systems. Not just talking shops, but places where collaborations emerge that genuinely help entrepreneurs move forward.
Arnhem on the energy map
In May 2024, the first edition of Arnhem Electricity Week took place, emerging directly from the ecosystem surrounding Connectr. For a whole week, the city was all about electricity, with conferences, company visits and public events. Everywhere, connections were forged between talent and businesses – exactly what the sector, with its thousands of vacancies, so desperately needs.
National Centre of Expertise on Grid Congestion
National significance
What began as a regional initiative has gained national significance. During Arnhem Electricity Week 2025, Alliander, TenneT, the Province of Gelderland, Oost NL, VNO-NCW, HAN University of Applied Sciences and Connectr signed the agreement for the National Centre of Expertise on Grid Congestion. It makes sense that this took place here: the overloaded electricity grid is the key problem facing businesses, with over 14,000 companies on the waiting list. The centre of expertise, based in the Innovation Lab, helps them find workable solutions to enable growth within the existing grid capacity.
An anniversary that makes history
In May 2026, we celebrated our first five-year anniversary, right in the middle of Arnhem Electricity Week and surrounded by the people who made it all possible. It was a week that made history in its own right: the very first National Grid Congestion Day took place, with 37 solutions submitted, and 24 organisations signed up for the next step: from 2027, Arnhem Electricity Week will continue as European Electricity Week. During the fifth-anniversary celebrations, special partners were presented with a building block: a nod to what they mean to the ecosystem. You are a building block.
Putting the entrepreneur first
After five years, one thing is clearer than ever: Connectr is all about the entrepreneur and their solution. The energy transition will only succeed if companies can grow and profit from sustainable innovations. In this way, Connectr makes a significant contribution to the innovative strength and economic development of the Lifeport Arnhem-Nijmegen region. The grid is at full capacity, the heat transition is in its infancy, and heavy goods transport is crying out for charging solutions. There is still plenty to be done.
So we’re carrying on. With the entrepreneur at the forefront, just as we were five years ago. Will you join us? Get in touch at info@connectr.nu
This article was originally published by Connectr on Connectr.nl.
