'You can formulate an end goal but be sure to leave it open-ended'

With Recharge Earth, Rotterdam Ahoy developed its own new conference. Founding partners and gradual growth are important conditions to develop a concept, says exhibition manager Pieter Bas Dujardin.

In September, the two-day Recharge Earth conference had its fourth edition in the Rotterdam Ahoy Convention Centre (RACC). It’s a conference we developed in-house that focuses on accelerating the energy transition. “There were already several knowledge events and fairs that focused on sub-themes such as heat, hydrogen and wind energy, but none that focused on the entire energy transition,” explains Pieter Bas Dujardin of Ahoy.

It makes sense for the Port of Rotterdam and its industry, which includes many energy-related businesses, to create its own portfolio for the international trade fair and conference company. For example, as trade fair manager, Dujardin has the Maintenance NEXT and Safety&Health@Work trade fairs in his portfolio.

 

The key is to raise the bar step by step. That’s how it has to be because the participants keep raising the bar.

 

City and region

“We’re always looking for themes that match city and region themes, and the energy transition is definitely one of them,” says Dujardin. “For example, the Port of Rotterdam must develop into the hydrogen hub of Europe. Our preliminary study showed that there was room for an event around this theme.”

Together with the city of Rotterdam, the idea was explored further to arrive at a concept. “At that stage, we didn’t yet have a product or proposal on paper. We started looking for the right stakeholders to fine-tune the concept together,” adds Dujardin.

These early partners formed the advisory board that influenced the final design of the event. “We have an advisory board for every in-house production. They bring in outside knowledge to ensure that the content meets the needs of the target group.”

Advisory board

Recharge Earth has a 12-member advisory board that includes, in addition to the municipality, the Port of Rotterdam, energy company Eneco, Netbeheer Nederland, and the Delft University of Technology. “The advantage of our region is that we have three significant pillars of the energy sector near each other: Delft with the Technical University for Science, The Hague as the seat of national politics and business, and Rotterdam, with its port and industry.”

The councillors’ best piece of advice was to make it a distinctive event, with the main focus on the quality of the conference programme. According to them, it also had to be a place where all the energy transition stakeholders could meet.

When planning the first conference, Dujardin relied on the partners’ market contacts as well as their own network of trade fairs, which Ahoy has been holding for many years. Prior to the first edition in September 2021, the one and a half-metre corona regulations presented some challenges. However, it was one of the first opportunities for people in the energy chain to see each other in person.

First edition

“We haven’t quantified any objectives for the first edition. We just wanted to create a solid edition and lay a foundation on which we could build. In the end, 600 attendees showed up.”

Now that Recharge Earth was on the map, it prompted a collaboration with the Ruggedised Smart Cities and Communities event, which showed and presented the results of this European initiative during its second edition. “Then, more partners joined in,” says Dujardin. “You’ll often find parties waiting to see how the first edition went.”

Room for newcomers

Prior to the third edition, we decided that energy market newcomers should also have a platform. The Innovation Expo was set up for this purpose, where start-ups and scale-ups could present their projects to conference participants.

The Young Energy Leader Award was first presented to the even younger generation. Talented students from Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Erasmus University, Delft University of Technology, Avans University of Applied Sciences, Radboud University, and The Hague University of Applied Sciences could pitch their theses during the conference.

“The award process also helps maintain strong ties with the knowledge institutes, while the pitchers provide extra dynamics on the floor,” explains Dujardin.

 

The award process also helps maintain strong ties with the knowledge institutes

 

Additional networking opportunities

At the advisory board’s request, this year’s focus was on additional networking opportunities. For example, guests of the council members could enjoy a VIP breakfast on both days. “This way they could strengthen and share their business relationships,” Dujardin describes the added value. “We’ve also developed a program for C-level officials of large companies, which resulted in a new and exciting target group.”

The programme’s content was also adjusted based on the previous year’s evaluation. “In 2023, we had a lot of panels. The goal was to get a group of people together on stage to discuss a topic from their own responsibility and perspective. However, you still don’t have enough time to really go into depth. With a one-hour session and a panel of five people, you can spend a lot of time on introductions, not getting any further than a bunch of stock phrases.

This year we had three plenary sessions each day, followed by a number of break-out sessions, which all turned out well.”

A fair’s added value

The conference’s further expansion, which drew nearly 1,000 participants over two days this year, is also known. Recharge Earth will also have an exhibition floor in 2025. “Let’s say about 80 companies, 2,000 visitors and a net exhibition floor of 1,000 m2, which can easily be combined with the conference in our new conference centre.

We’re still thinking about the look of the fair, as it needs to be more playful than a conventional one.

In addition to being a logical addition to the conference, we believe the fair will attract a different type of visitor from the same companies and agencies, but with more practical functions. The conference mainly showcases perspectives and complex issues, while the fair shows what you can already do.”

Future goals

Future goals include transitioning from a conference to a large trade fair with a conference or expanding internationally. “Of course, we’re thinking ahead, but you never know how market needs will develop. We could expand into an umbrella organisation that covers third-party initiatives, such as a Recharge Earth Week with various events.

You always need to be aware of what you already have. Recharge Earth stands for intimacy and quality. That’s why we’ll be collaborating with an external conference agency next year to focus on the new Expo. The key is to raise the bar step by step. That’s how it has to be because the participants keep raising the bar.

You can formulate an end goal, but be sure to leave it open-ended. You should always work together with your partners throughout the whole process. That’s actually how we set up our own productions at Ahoy. We’re not into one-off things, like doing an event about Bitcoin. We’re in it for the long term and plan to keep investing in it.”