The advancement of innovative products and services is set to receive a significant boost in the Netherlands as the government has committed €184M for the establishment of 14 high-quality and forward-looking research facilities.
Minister Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate) announced his decision to grant this support from the first round of financing for Applied Research Facilities (FTO).
The investment proposals come from several TO2 organisations (TNO, MARIN, NLR, and Wageningen Research) and various government knowledge institutions (Naturalis, NFI, RCE, and RIVM).
The funds will support hydrogen propulsion, biobased building materials, food safety, and digital infrastructure, including data application and smart industry.
“The Dutch knowledge base is and remains very strong. Researchers and entrepreneurs solve global challenges together and develop products or services to achieve this. But knowledge does not enter the market successfully on its own and we are experiencing ever-increasing competition in the field of innovation worldwide. For example, with technologies that are necessary for sustainability and digitalization. If we want to remain successful, excellent and modern research facilities are the basis for this. The cabinet is now investing extra in this,” says Minister Micky Adriaansens (EZK).
14 research facilities in The Netherlands’
The key projects that will benefit from this support:
- Hydro/Aerodynamic hybrid research facility (MARIN, research into floating wind turbines and solar parks)
- SeaLab: The sea as a digital lab (MARIN, measurements at sea on the effects of maritime objects)
- Strengthening Smart Industry Fieldlab NLR-ACM3 (NLR, composites, and high-tech materials production and maintenance)
- GPT-NL (TNO, facility for a sovereign Dutch language model)
- Innovation Center for Sustainable Powertrains (TNO, hydrogen propulsion)
- Biobased building materials (TNO, raw materials from plant and wood fibers)
- BSL-3 facility for feed and food analysis (Wageningen Research, food safety analysis and research)
- FoodTech Facility (Wageningen Research, nutritional research aimed at consumers)
- Greenhouses and climate cells (Wageningen Research, botanical research)
- Sustainable High Tech Research Greenhouse (Wageningen Research, automated and circular cultivation systems)
- JusticeLink (Dutch Forensic Institute, data infrastructure for the analysis of complex and confidential data flows)
- DNA metabarcoding facility for biodiversity assessments (Naturalis, measuring biodiversity)
- DNA NL (National Cultural Heritage Agency, digital infrastructure for interdisciplinary heritage research)
- An analysis portal for integrated research and an overarching data platform (RIVM, measurements)
By 2024, the government will obtain additional funding of €100M from the Research and Science Fund to monitor greenhouse gases, climate, and air quality, and promote data digitalisation.
Further financing rounds are planned in the following years, with an additional €190M being allocated from 2025 onwards.
Read the orginal article: https://siliconcanals.com/news/netherlands-pledges-184m/
