Mr. Winfried Rijssenbeek

Director

"The great challenge of this century is poverty how can we substantially reduce poverty in the developing countries? Poverty is the lack of income and is often caused by lack of employment, knowledge of opportunities and bad health. Much of this is related to energy. Today, on this planet, still some 1.4 billion people lack modern energy services like cooking gas or electricity. On the other hand, we see an end to fossil fuels which, at the same time produce local pollution and likely a warmer and more volatile climate. So, the future is in energy efficient use and the deployment of renewable energy systems. With my 28 years in the field of renewable energy, my experience is that for each location there is an optimal renewable energy solution. It can be by using biomass, wind, sun or water. With FACT and our partners we have a unique chance to generate and spread knowledge and expertise on bio-energy for locale development assisting local communities and farmers. In this way, these people can make informed choices on the energy issues for improving their livelihoods. That’s our challenge."

Mr. Ywe Jan Franken

Project Developer

"Environmental issues and plant production have always strongly interested me and during my studies of Tropical Agriculture at Wageningen University I specialised in agronomy. Working for FACT as portfolio manager Latin America gives me the unique chance to facilitate bioenergy business development in emerging economies and create opportunities for local farmers and entrepreneurs. Simultaneously I can work on a solution for global warming and promote biodiversity. I believe bioenergy  is an essential part of sustainable and diversified agricultural systems that can also include food, forage, fibre, timber, ornamentals, dyes, tannins and traditional medicine." 

Mr. Bart Frederiks

Bioenergy Conversion Specialist

"Renewable energy in developing countries is a great field to be working in if you are an engineer / world citizen. Energy is an important driver for development, and can really contribute to improving people's livelihoods in developing countries. Using renewable energy is the best way to do that, as it enables people to supply their own energy while not contributing to global environmental problems and depletion of natural resources. Working with FACT enables me to apply knowledge of bioenergy conversion processes and passion for hands-on work to the development and implementation of inovative pilot projects in developing countries."

Ms.Sandra Bos

Social Engineer & SME Specialist                                   

"Since my graduation at Wageningen University in 2007, I have been working with rural entrepreneurs. First in the Netherlands, in the multifunctional farming sector, where farmers combine farming and other activities such as  health care, recreation or education. In 2009 and 2010, I worked in Mozambique, where I was involved in a research project on community-based biofuel production and use and I worked with small- and medium-size solar retailers. What I learned from working with entrepreneurs in these sectors is that they face many risks and they often do not receive much support in developing their business. I believe that developing a sustainable bioenergy sector should go hand in hand with developing an enabling environment in the private sector. This requires a business-minded approach of development organizations. I am very happy that I can work with an organization that has such a mindset, and that supports innovative entrepreneurs in developing business opportunities for sustainable bioenergy production and use."

Mr. Jean-Benoît Buquet

Student

“Energy is for sure one of the most important issues of the century, especially due to environmental problems and limited raw material resources. The current civilizations are based on electricity, and it is aberrant to see that several countries still do not have easy access to electricity in the 21st century. FACT helps to answer the world’s toughest question, confronting energy and the environment and FACT gives me the opportunity to work on a 50W thermoacoustic  Stirling engine in order to produce electricity from the heat produced by biomass combustion. Stirling engines are well known for many years now, but the thermoacoustic is really different because all mechanical moving parts have been removed, and it is highly interesting regarding manufacturing costs, environmental aspects, longevity, efficiency, etc. This engine calls for many physical fields, and as I like challenges I really enjoy working on its design improvement and to run tests (both on prototypes and Matlab models).”

Mr. Kevin Chapon

Student

"Nowadays, the world population is facing common issues. Some environmental problems are global and developing countries are the principal victims of the current Western society’s development. FACT offers me the opportunity to realise a project in a developing country, in Africa. The discovery of such developing countries is a great experience in order to have a better overview of the current world situation. As the Earth is a limited area, it is obvious that if the developing countries are following the same growth as the western countries, pollutions and environmental degradations will be much higher than now. Solutions have to be tested and evaluated in order to reach a sustainable development, meeting the needs of today, without compromising the needs of coming generations."

Ms. Sophie Collard

Student

“Resources scarcity and environmental problems linked to fossil fuels use have led to an increased interest for renewable energy technologies over the past few years. But to durably supplant fossil fuels, these technologies have to become more efficient, more reliable, and most of all more affordable. FACT gives me the opportunity to work in the captivating field of thermoacoustics. Thermoacoustic engines could provide a solution for electricity production from waste heat in many different applications. A 50 Watts prototype for use in rural areas was developed by Aster Thermoakoestische Systemen for FACT. My task is now to make a computer model of this generator, and to find solutions to make mass production possible and reduce manufacturing costs.”