Den Berk Délice is the largest tomato producer in Belgium. The company was formed when four friends and neighbouring tomato growers from the Kempen region decided to join forces. They combined their experience, know-how, and expertise for a single approach to the customer, and in 2014, their companies formally came under one umbrella: Den Berk Délice.

Today, the company has 10 active locations, including a hypermodern sorting centre in Hoogstraten, and a cultivation area of 90 hectares. They produce a large number of different varieties of tomatoes and aim to be a fresh retail partner, with specialty varieties of tomatoes of superior quality and taste.

In order to supply the tomato crops with all their energy needs, Den Berk Délice has set up an energy fleet comprising 80 MW CHPs, 42 MW E-boiler, and 50 MW assimilation lighting (making year-round production of tomatoes possible). With these assets, Den Berk Délice is active in all the possible power markets, in a very flexible and grid-supporting way. Sustainability is an important focus of the company, and energy is key in this story.

In order to manage its energy strategy, Den Berk Délice is searching for an Energy Business Expert who will have the following key responsibilities and tasks:

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

As an Energy Business Expert, you will have a function in the central energy structure of Den Berk Délice. You will monitor various energy markets (day-ahead, imbalance, reserve markets, intraday), go deep into new contents and material, explore new opportunities, report and share your findings and recommendations, and ensure a smooth flow of information across the company. You will take on a role in various domains:
• Energy markets: based on in-depth analyses, you will ensure that Den Berk Délice is provided with the highest level of knowledge regarding various energy markets
• Technology and legislation: within the team, you will be the person responsible for monitoring new developments and possibilities in the field of technology and legislation
• Legal and compliance: you will be responsible for managing files on subsidies, administrative reporting, safety and the environment
• New projects: you will support the energy manager in investigating alternative energy sources, both technically and economically, and you will monitor feasibility studies and development of new projects such as deep geothermal energy, residual heat, waste incineration, heat pumps, etc.

KEY TASKS

As an Energy Business Expert, you will:
• Closely monitor energy markets and, together with your colleagues, ensure that the correct market information flows internally
• Continuously analyse various energy markets in a very in-depth manner and based on this, formulate recommendations with a view to:
- optimising our strategy in these markets
- improving our dashboards to support strategy development and results monitoring
• In collaboration with an external party, help develop a tool that should optimise the use of various energy assets in various markets
• Monitor new developments in the field of technology, market forces and regulations at various market players, such as ELIA, Fluvius, governments, research centres, interest groups, etc.
• Analyse the feasibility of new technologies or energy sources and be involved in feasibility studies with external parties
• Be involved in improvement processes regarding availability, flue gas quality, efficiency, etc.
• Be responsible for managing the VEKA files for the CHPs, which are crucial for receiving heat power certificates
- Maintain an overview of various installations and have a perfect overview of which meters need to be recalibrated and when
- Plan periodic inspections and be responsible for the preparation and processing of the files
- Be responsible for the contact with external parties such as Vincotte, VEKA, Bossaerts, etc.