One young world
One Young World Summit is an annual global forum for young leaders working to accelerate positive changes in the world. Delegates from more than 190 countries have the opportunity to be counselled by influential figures, who included J. K. Rowling or Sir Richard Branson this year.
Jorg Wellink was able to attend thanks to the One Young World Shell Scholarship Programme, an initiative by Shell Netherlands designed to give ten young people the chance to present themselves and their projects at the summit. Wellink was awarded this scholarship for his start-up ‘ReCycleWell’, which develops circular models for solar energy projects.
What is it like to be there at the One Young World Summit?
Wellink: ‘It is very interesting. We’ve had speeches from many important people, such as J. K. Rowling or the CEO of Coca-Cola. It is a lot about networking and getting in touch with young leaders and entrepreneurs. There are about 2000 delegates from more than 190 different countries, so it is great to be one of them.’
You are there because of the One Young World Shell Scholarship Programme. Why did you decide to apply for the scholarship and therefore go to the summit?
‘I was already working on the ReCycleWell project and I thought this would be a great platform to share my idea. Not to mention that the scholarship allowed me to move the product further.’
What exactly is ‘ReCycleWell’?
‘It is a start-up that I founded. We are developing a new type of solar charging stations for e-bikes which we would like to offer to companies. The goal is to provide businesses with charging facilities for their employees. We are developing a locker system where e-bikes can be charged sustainably. It could be a safer and more environmentally friendly solution to store and charge electrical bikes.’
How far along are you with this idea?
‘We are now with a team of five, all University of Twente students. Our main goal is to make the solar energy market circular. We are looking into what could be recycled and we are aiming to make the charging system off-grid, to store the energy so that people can use renewable energy even on a cloudy day. We are currently developing a prototype and it is very likely that we will receive funding from Shell to make this happen.’
