Harry finished his study at TU/e in 1963. In 1975 he started working at the KNMI, the official Dutch Meteorological Institute. In 1980, during a trip to the US, he learned about innovative methods of forecasting weather. He tried to introduce them at the KNMI, but was met with little enthusiasm. That was his first “Allright, I’ll do it myself then.” Moment.
Weatherman
He founded Meteoconsult, a commercial provider of weather-related information and he quickly became very successful. For 15 years, he presented their own findings on Dutch commercial television, turning him into what you might call a national celebrity. Now, his focus is on renewable energy. Harry: “Weather has a lot to do with energy. For example, the sun provides most of the renewable energy. Directly by sunlight and indirectly by the wind. Those are the sources we will have to rely on soon.”
Nuclear energy
Harry has a factual view on the energy transition. He doesn’t shy away from naming nuclear energy as a possible part of the transition. The mention of these words still stirs up emotions. But according to Harry, even fervent opponents are changing their opinions. Harry: “And why not? The amount of nuclear waste from hospitals is much greater than the residual products from reactors, for example.”
He is pleased to see that at TU/e, they are also working on nuclear fusion. Harry: “I believe we will be able to master it within this century. It's complex, but if it works, we'll tap into an inexhaustible source of energy.” And until we do? “A basic grid of 200 nuclear reactors spread across Europe, supplemented with wind and solar energy, sounds like a good idea.”
The drawbacks of renewable energy
As we all know, renewable energy is not a holy grail. The production of electric cars and batteries asks for rare metals, harmful substances and procedures. That’s why Harry would encourage the development of hydrogen as an alternative and/or additional type of fuel. Harry: “Hydrogen as a fuel does not pollute at all. Its production requires a lot of energy, but that should not be a problem. We can harness the excess energy from wind farms to make it.”
Funding and a little bit of advice
My donation is meant for any kind of project that helps create or helps take steps towards sustainable energy.”, he says. He won’t actively participate in these projects, because, in his own words, he is too old to be telling young scientists what to do. The only advice he is ready to dispense is this: “Don’t do it for the money. Do it to make your dream a reality. Do it yourself. Be stubborn. Learn and be prepared to hit your head. A lot.”
Harry firmly believes that becoming an entrepreneur doesn’t conflict with being a scientist. On the contrary: “Companies do a lot of research. Just look at ASML, there are a lot of smart people in the greater Eindhoven Area. Chances are that, if you want to get ahead as a scientist, a business is a much more innovative, supporting and motivating environment.”
Foundation
Harry created a foundation that pays out two main prizes of €25,000, - each and two 'consolation prizes' of €2,500 to projects that make the world a better place with or thanks to meteorology. Harry: “I think it would be nice if people from the physics community would also submit ideas. Now it is mainly meteorologists. With the prize money, the winners can do whatever they want. Setting up a business, continuing with research, or on vacation. "That's up to them, as long as good ideas come out."