Bruno Ehrler is the new chairperson of NERA. He has worked for years in the filed of energy research. We asked him some questions to get to know him better en to know what he thinks about the future for NERA.

Who is Bruno and what drives him?

I am the director of the NWO institute AMOLF. In addition, I lead a research group focused on developing the next generation of solar cells. I am driven by the vision of a future in which our energy supply is clean, accessible to everyone, fairly distributed, and in our own hands. I am convinced that stronger collaboration and coordination between the different fields within energy research will help accelerate the transition towards this future.

What kind of chair do you want to be for NERA?

In recent years, NERA has broadened its membership to better represent the wide range of energy research fields and the entire knowledge chain. I want to build on these developments and ensure that the full diversity within energy research is used to accelerate the energy transition.

What do you see as the biggest challenge within energy research? And what ambitions do you have for NERA in the coming years?

Energy research has already delivered fantastic solutions that can enable a future in which energy is fairly distributed, locally produced and stored, and clean. However, not everyone in policymaking and industry is sufficiently aware of these opportunities. NERA is a strong network for communicating about energy research and for advising policymakers and other decision-makers based on scientific evidence. In a world overflowing with information, scientific advice is becoming increasingly important to help make sense of it all.

What message would you like to share with NERA members and the broader network?

Use your position to communicate about energy research in a scientific, fact-based manner. The energy field is often surrounded by confusion and misinformation, and together we can help bring reliable, evidence-based knowledge to the forefront.