23 June 2025 · DigiShape Meeting at Haskoning, Amersfoort
Innovation at full speed
A packed house, vibrant discussions and concrete examples of how digital twins (DTs) are already delivering value: that was the common thread of the DigiShape Day on 23 June. More than 50 professionals from governments, knowledge institutions and companies dived together into the question: how do we bring the State of the Art into daily practice?
Presentation DigiShape and program
The participants came from: Haskoning, Fugro NL Land BV, Van Oord, Geonovum, TNO Geological Survey of the Netherlands, CellSat / Drynet, Rijkswaterstaat, Iv-Infra, WSP, Boskalis, Waterschap Vallei en Veluwe, IMAGEM, BZIM, Nelen & Schuurmans, Rijkswaterstaat/TU Delft, Hoogheemraadschap van Schieland en de Krimpenerwaard, Sogelink, PBL, Iv, Utrecht University, BZ Ingenieurs & Managers, Evides Waterbedrijf, Waterschap Hollandse Delta, HHSK, M VRO DGRO Spatial Information Directorate, HydroTwin Engineering, Deltares, RWS Waterdistrict Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, MARIN, SPING Digital AI Lab, Royal Eijkelkamp, HKV-line-in-water, EAISI – TU/e Eindhoven AI Systems Institute, Hollands Noorderkwartier Water Board, Province of Fryslân, StellaSpark, Deltares / University of Twente.
Daan van der Heide on accurate representation of the height of the Netherlands, Pam Sterkman (Van Oord) on cloudscape, Mo Wannasin on digital twinning for saline seepage and Luc Ponsioen on the Maeslant barrier
Morning: demos that appeal to the imagination
Decision-making for drinking water – Royal HaskoningDHV
How can drinking water companies calculate and visualise their policy choices? What happens if you change standards for substances? What effect does that have on quality and costs? Thanks to linked data and models, RHDHV’s instrument helps with well-founded decision-making.
Smart Mooring — Royal HaskoningDHV
Live weather data and dynamic analyses help harbour masters and captains decide in real time whether and when a ship can moor safely.
Digital Twin Maeslant Barrier — HydroTwin Engineering
Luc Ponsioen showed how a 3D twin visualises the closing process of the Maeslant barrier, makes knowledge transferable and helps to manage risks in an insightful way.
Presentation Digital Twin Maeslant Barrier (pdf)
Cloudscape — Van Oord & WOCU
An open-source 3D viewer that allows large point clouds of floodplains to be viewed in the browser at lightning speed. Ideal for inspections, mowing planning and remote management.
Elevation of the Netherlands — RWS & TU Delft
Daan van der Heide argued for a uniform 3D elevation dataset for the Netherlands, as an answer to the fragmented data landscape.
Presentation Elevation datasets of the Netherlands and Europe (pdf)
The Virtual Delta — Deltares, UTwente & Saltisolutions
Mo Wannasin presented a digital twin for real-time salt intrusion management in the Rhine-Meuse delta. Built together with end users, with AI as a tool for predictions.
Presentation the Virtual Delta (pdf)
Afternoon: building concrete cases together
After lunch, participants stepped into the role of DT builder themselves. Wouter Zomer (BZIM) and Remon Pot (Deltares) shared insights from the exploration Climate Adaptive Asset Management, Digital Twins and AI, carried out with the support of TKI Delta Technology. They identified urgent tasks, barriers to the application of new technologies and opportunities to use them together.
Presentation PPP exploration of climate-adaptive asset management digital twins and AI (pdf)
Jenneke van der Velden sketched the picture of how Rijkswaterstaat wants to use digital technology and AI to achieve the major acceleration of production. The AI Competence center and preconditions for successful digital projects.
“AI is not an end in itself — it’s about the added value for our tasks,” says Jenneke van der Velden (Rijkswaterstaat).
Jenneke van der Velden on behalf of Rijkswaterstaat, initiative Grip on Soil from the Province of Fryslân
Erik Vastenburg on safety during the life of the dike and the ecosystem of soil flows
The participants then set to work on four practical cases, with the aim of formulating promising project proposals for pre-competitive cooperation in the field of climate-adaptive infrastructure. The cases:
- Digital Twin for water systems – Nelen & Schuurmans and a number of partners
- Grip on Soil – Province of Friesland, about a national interactive database for soil flows.
Download the Grip on Ground presentation (pdf) - Case HHNK – HHNK Water Board, time dependence on flood defences
- Case Province of Zeeland – Sogeti
Download the presentation Multi-layer safety and flooding in Zeeland (pdf)
During the work sessions, a lot of attention was paid to the added value from a social perspective and the perspective of innovation and earning capacity from the companies. This for the purpose of the PPP exploration and the concrete work on valuable cases / project proposals.
Animo per case consists of order 5-7 parties, where the initiative is taken to develop matters into coherent TKI proposals. Where necessary, connections are made from the network. For example, with the regions, or with Rijkswaterstaat, interested parties, etc., etc.
And what now?
The day provided plenty of inspiration and concrete input. BZIM and Deltares are currently developing two proposals into pitches for DigiShape seed money projects (Digital Twin for water systems and the case of HHNK). The possibility of a follow-up is also being explored for other cases, for example through a TKI subsidy.
At the end of 2025, we will organize a follow-up meeting in which we will show what this day has set in motion. Keep an eye on the DigiShape website for updates.
Do you have an addition to one of the cases presented, or do you want to actively think along or contribute? Let us know via david@digishape.nl. We also cordially invite parties that are not yet DigiShape partners, but would like to get involved, to get in touch.
Finally
We look back on a crackling program with sharp insights, strong pitches and a lot of positive energy. Thanks to all speakers, participants and the hospitable reception by partner Royal HaskoningDHV.
On to the development of a well-filled DigiShape program — with impact!
