About us

Before Martijn van Rheenen became CEO of Perpetual Next, he was the founder and CEO of Momentum Capital. Momentum Capital has established several international companies, including companies in the energy and infrastructure sectors, with a combined value of around €475 million. In 2012, Martijn initiated the first investments in upgrading organic residual flows. He oversaw the founding of several companies in this sector, which now have ten production facilities in Europe. These activities were merged into Perpetual Next in 2019 and 2020.

Erik Huis has over 25 years of international experience (US, EU, Russia, Middle East, and Asia) as an entrepreneur in the fossil energy sector (including General Electric and Shell) with a focus on industry & technology. In 2012, he joined forces with Momentum Capital to build a sustainable energy portfolio, which would eventually become Perpetual Next. Erik obtained an MBA from Fox School of Business, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA.

25 years ago, Rene's career began in the power generation sector. He worked in senior positions in development, engineering, and production facilities and later as a senior project manager and project director in several complex international energy projects. Rene is a natural leader in multidisciplinary teams and uses his strategic thinking to implement successful and ambitious projects with partners.

Albert Fischer is passionate about promoting sustainability by building young and innovative businesses. He has over 25 years of experience in venture capital and management in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Over the course of his career, he has invested in 22 companies that focus on sustainability and clean energy. Albert obtained a PhD in physics from the University of Leiden and followed executive education courses at the Amsterdam Institute of Finance and IMD Lausanne.

Dr. Eija-Riitta Korhola (former Member of the EU Parliament) has more than 15 years of experience in European legislation on energy, climate, environment, and the internal market. She worked as a visiting senior fellow at Tsinghua-Brookings (Beijing), as a delegate of the Advisory Committee on Industrial Change to the European Economic and Social Committee, and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Japanese Climate Initiative Innovation for the Cool Earth Forum.

Maarten (MSc) is a driven manager with 20 years of international experience. Maarten is experienced in M&A, finance, and joint venture development in the fields of international business development, sustainability, and consultancy in renewable energy. He is also an expert in converting organic waste streams to energy, bio supply chain management, organic waste (wood and agricultural residues) pelletization, and environmental and social responsibility within the energy sector.

Dennis (MSc) is an all-round CFO with a technical background and approximately 18 years of international experience at technology-driven companies within the energy sector. He comes over from Yokogawa Electric and previously worked for 15 years in various positions for Exxon-Mobil and Shell. Dennis has a broad financial experience, accompanied by a hands-on attitude plus experience in coaching teams.

Martijn supervises the maturity phase of the unique technology for the torrefaction of organic waste. Martijn received a PhD in theoretical physics. After a series of technical management and CEO positions in the lighting industry, he is excited to contribute with the Perpetual team to the world’s transition to renewable energy by ramping up to industrial scale this proprietary technology for producing biocoal from organic waste.

Marcel serves as the Chief of Staff of Perpetual and is responsible for the internal affairs. He is heading the Executive Committee and will plan and direct all administrative, financial, and operational activities on behalf of the CEO. Marcel has worked in several Sr. Management and Executive roles, where he successfully built up organizations from scratch and transformed existing organizations to suit new business needs.