International experience sharpens entrepreneurship. Companies operating across borders often become more innovative, spread risks better and learn faster. In addition, for every new job created directly by exporting companies, another job is created at their local suppliers and service providers. In other words, international business grows the entire region.
But going abroad is not a matter of course. New cultures, laws, languages and networks take time and courage. Take Japan: in 2024, the Netherlands will export over ten billion euros' worth of goods and services to the country. Thanks to its great ambitions in green energy - with hydrogen as the spearhead - Japan is a global leader in energy transition. This creates great opportunities for Northern Netherlands companies to cooperate and exchange knowledge.
Still, such a market may seem a long way off for Dutch companies, both in terms of distance and culture. One way Trade and Innovate NL (TINL) aims to bridge this gap is through trade missions abroad. Since early 2025, the NOM has played a coordinating role within the TINL network, with the goal of making these missions more accessible to entrepreneurs in the north. “We want to connect northern SMEs with export-related events, support opportunities, and trade missions. We do this by actively bringing these types of opportunities and information to the attention of companies in the region,” says Wim A.B., Internationalization Project Manager at NOM.
Economic Mission Hydrogen and Offshore Wind
During the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, both the NOM and the New Energy Coalition joined RVO’s broader economic mission to Japan and also organized their own activities. Companies from the Northern Netherlands, together with Japanese multinationals, presented groundbreaking innovations in the fields of green energy and circularity. It was also a great opportunity to explore the Japanese market, network with companies, and explore new partnerships to further advance the energy transition. “It was a wonderful immersion and a fantastic experience.”
Hydrogen road trip
On behalf of and in cooperation with RVO and PIB Japan Hydrogen, New Energy Coalition organized a hydrogen road trip through Japan. It started in Tokyo and ended at the World Expo in Osaka, with a crossover conference around the theme of hydrogen and offshore wind. 'I am very proud that we were able to co-organize this economic mission and were also allowed to complete it,' said Martijn de Vries, Team Manager R&I at New Energy Coalition. 'In doing so, Minister of Climate and Green Growth, Sophie Hermans, and Mayor of Rotterdam, Carola Schouten, also latched on to many program points. It was a great opportunity for the participating companies to introduce themselves and get to know the Japanese market and market players.'
'And in addition, of course, it is a great opportunity to learn from each other,' continues De Vries. 'Because the energy transition is a global challenge and therefore it is important to see how and where we can complement each other to achieve a complete hydrogen chain. And the crossover conference around hydrogen and offshore wind was a very nice finale, with beautiful and valuable panel discussions and with some 250 people it also had a good turnout.'
'Thanks to the contributions of, for example, Equinox Ocean Turbines and Erik Bertholet of Groninger Seaports, we have put the Northern Netherlands on the map as an innovative region, with a key role in offshore wind and hydrogen. The innovative power, entrepreneurship and experience we have is interesting and important for Japanese companies and governments. And vice versa, of course, we can also learn a lot from the Japanese approach, for example in the area of implementing a sector-wide hydrogen strategy, with matching incentives.'
One of the highlights of the road trip, according to De Vries, was a visit to JERA's Hekinan Power Plant, Japan's largest coal-fired power plant. 'JERA has ambitious plans to become emission-free and wants to use ammonia as a fuel to do so. Japan also sees ammonia as an important carrier for hydrogen because it is easy to transport, store and use in existing infrastructure. That is also very interesting for our Dutch hydrogen ambitions, because with ammonia you can transport hydrogen on a large scale and efficiently, which is interesting for industrial applications. So the Japanese example shows very concretely how this energy carrier can be used in the energy sector.'
Equinox Ocean Turbines
The Frisian company Equinox Ocean Turbines was one of the companies from the Northern Netherlands that participated in the economic mission. The company was given a global stage at the Global Startup EXPO in Osaka. “We develop turbines that generate energy from hydropower, and Japan is an incredibly important market for us because one of the world’s most powerful ocean currents flows past there,” says Bart Velthuizen, Chief Commercial Officer of Equinox.
'So that was a very important reason for us to go along,' Velthuizen continues. 'It was great to be able to pitch at the startup expo and besides that, our main goal was to get to know the Japanese ecosystem. I think we talked to about 45 different companies in total, so it was a nice immersion and a great experience.
Summit Engineering Project and consulting firm
Summit Engineering from Eelde participated in the TopDutch Innovation Challenge prior to the mission and, together with Groningen-based DNV, emerged as the challenge winner. The two companies developed a flexible concept for the regional branch of Ueshima Coffee Company (UCC) in Bolsward to transition from natural gas to hydrogen in the coffee roasting process. “We had the opportunity to present that solution in Osaka, and it was a fantastic experience,” says Robbert van der Pluijm, founder of Summit Engineering. “It was also a great opportunity for us to get to know our end customer better and showcase our solution to the headquarters,” van der Pluijm continues. “We noticed that the presentation went over well with them. And of course, it’s a fantastic experience. You also notice that in Japan, they take a more pragmatic approach and actively exchange knowledge with one another. In the Netherlands, we might make decisions more quickly, but then we often want everything to go right the first time. And you notice that much less in Japan.”
More focus on trade
According to Project Manager Internationalization at NOM Wim A.B., the mission fits well with the new focus on trade and export. Previously, companies with export plans could always contact the Chamber of Commerce, but nowadays that is mainly a digital desk, so it is not always clear who to contact. That support task now lies with all the regional development agencies. I have also been actively involved in this since this year as Internationalization Project Manager. Besides setting up challenges and profiling our region in the international network, we want more northern SMEs to participate in such missions.'
During the week of the mission, the NOM also organized a special event where C-suite executives from Japanese multinationals gathered to celebrate the conclusion of the TopDutch Innovation Challenge. This included an “Innovation Market,” where mission participants could showcase their products. According to A.B., this was not only an opportunity for the companies but also a chance to showcase the innovative potential of the entire region. “As the NOM, we were also the only regional development agency to organize a substantive event in the Dutch pavilion during the World Expo, which allowed us to provide a platform for the participating companies.”