The first prize in the SME Grid Congestion Innovation Competition 2026 was won by Tibo Energy. This was announced by Jo-Annes de Bat, State Secretary for Climate and Green Growth, during Grid Congestion Day at Cleantech Park Arnhem. Tibo Energy has won €100,000, which will enable them to further scale up their application designed to consistently make the best choices for all energy sources within a business, whilst staying within existing grid capacity. The second prize of €50,000 goes to Currentt, for a tool that enables businesses to consistently get the most out of their connection despite grid congestion, thanks to data-driven insights. A slightly more futuristic but equally topical approach is supporting construction firms in designing neighbourhoods that make optimal use of energy, thereby minimising the demand on grid capacity – as Groupp Energy does . This has earned themthird prize , a sum of €30,000 as an incentive to put the idea into practice and scale it up.
During the National Grid Congestion Day on 18 May 2026, attendees were able to vote for the innovation they found most inspiring for the People’s Choice Award. Online voting for this award had already taken place earlier. This prize of €20,000 goes to QurmitXL.
The 2026 edition of the Grid Congestion Innovation Competition had 43 entries. The jury narrowed that down to the 10 most promising candidates. Criteria include: the degree of innovation, practical applicability and/or technical feasibility, market potential, impact on grid capacity and entrepreneurship.
'The jury took great pleasure and interest in reading the submitted projects, which show a wide range of creative solutions to the challenges surrounding grid congestion, ranging from technical innovations to smart cooperation models. It is clear that there is a lot of talent and entrepreneurial spirit within the Netherlands to future-proof the energy grid.'
The jury consisted of:
- Erik te Brake, manager Physical Environment of VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland
- Joris de Groot, CTO Alliander, representative of network operators
- Auke Hoekstra, TU Eindhoven, Programme Director NEON Research
- Jelmer Kalff, Powercrumbs, winner Net Congestion Innovation Competition 2025
- Max Oosterhuis, lawyer Loyens & Loeff with focus on the energy sector
The Net Congestion SME Innovation Competition 2026 was organised by the National Centre of Expertise on Net Congestion.
On the website of the National Centre of Expertise on Grid Congestion – Working Together to Create Space on the Grid, you will findall the information, including the jury’s full report.
