Category: Business

Universities of applied sciences and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are collaborating in order to boost innovation in the SME sector. This will be done via the Innovation Traineeship scheme that was officially launched today. As part of this scheme, students of universities of applied sciences will first complete a research placement before being employed by an SME as a researcher. Throughout the whole traineeship, a professor will also be involved in the research conducted by the innovation trainee. The students will also be trained in entrepreneurship and management skills.

In the next few months, regional universities of applied sciences will be seeking business owners who would like to take on an innovation trainee. Upon approval of their research plans, the first trainees will start in January 2021 and there will be capacity for around 200 trainees over the next few months. A budget of €3.9 million has been made available for the scheme.

The innovation traineeship is part of the Knowledge and Innovation Covenant that was submitted to the Lower House of Parliament on 11 November 2019 by State Secretary of Economic Affairs and Climate Mona Keijzer. The initiative was created by the Top Sectors of Chemistry, Logistics and Agri & Food and is being executed by the innovation incentives foundation Regieorgaan SIA (part of the Netherlands Association for Scientific Research (NWO)).

State Secretary Mona Keijzer said “Innovation is turning a smart idea into a new product that is useful to people and can earn money. To do this, we need entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs need talented individuals. For this reason, we devised and set up the Innovation Traineeship scheme together with Regieorgaan SIA, universities of applied sciences and the Top Sectors. This scheme will give SMEs fresh ideas to stimulate growth in line with the demands that time and customers place on them as well as giving students a fantastic opportunity to gain work experience. It will also demonstrate what innovation means to our country: new products for our businesses and employment opportunities for talented professionals.”

Maurice Limmen, Chair of the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences: “When it comes to innovation, universities of applied sciences are a natural partner to the SME sector. After all, the main focus of our practically oriented research is to achieve results in the short term, which is exactly what SMEs need. The Innovation Traineeship will allow us to fulfil our role even more effectively as the universities’ research groups will be involved throughout the entire process.”

More knowledge for the SME sector

The SME sector does not benefit as much as it could from the knowledge available at universities of applied sciences and other knowledge institutions. The Innovation Traineeship’s goal is to change this by conducting practically oriented research within an active business. Within the scope of the Knowledge and Innovation Covenant 2020-2023, innovation incentives foundation Regieorgaan SIA (part of the Netherlands Association for Scientific Research) will make 3.9 million euros available to allow lecturer-researchers from the universities in question to supervise the innovation trainees for a year and a half. Trainees will also have access to research facilities at their universities. In this way, business owners will have ample opportunity to implement vital and valuable innovations.

Universities and SMEs making plans

Over the next few months, universities of applied sciences and their affiliated Centres of Expertise will be seeking SME partners in their region who wish to take on an innovation trainee. Their plans for the traineeship, which must include how the university will structure the trainee’s supervision and what the focus of the research will be within the SME(s), will be assessed by Regieorgaan SIA in December 2020. Regieorgaan SIA will then provide funding for the research supervision process. Provided the trainee proves him/herself worthy, the SME must also be prepared to offer the trainee a one-year employment contract following completion of the traineeship. The first innovation trainees are expected to start at the beginning of 2021 and finish their traineeship in mid-2022. A total of around 200 trainees will start their traineeship over the next two years.

Want to get involved in the Innovation Traineeship scheme?

Currently, 13 universities of applied sciences are drawing up plans to participate in the Innovation Traineeship as of January.

 

Thursday 5 March 2020 marked the opening of the Rijswijk Centre for Sustainable Geo-energy (RCSG): a unique field lab that enables full-scale testing of geothermal energy projects. Geothermal energy could play a vital role in the energy transition and could realistically supply a quarter of the Netherlands’ heating needs by 2050. In order to accelerate this process, the RCSG was set up by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, the nationalised energy management firm EBN, the Province of Zuid-Holland, the Municipality of Rijswijk and TNO.

The RCSG is housed in Shell’s former Drilled Well Research and Testing Centre in Rijswijk. Businesses active in the geothermal energy sector can make use of this advanced laboratory. It is equipped with all necessary facilities to test and experiment with new drilling techniques and materials under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions. Nearly all underground conditions in the Netherlands can be imitated and there are only a handful of similar testing centres in the world.

Importance of geothermal energy
Geothermal energy can play a vital role in the energy transition as it is one of the most important sources of sustainable energy. In the Netherlands, we already generate 3.5 petajoules of geothermal energy per year but this total must be increased in the future. We expect geothermal energy to satisfy around a quarter of our country’s heating needs (200 PJ) by 2050. A great deal of work needs to be done with regard to drilling, as it needs to become more cost effective with continual focus on the issue of safety. In short, a great deal of technical innovation is required. The RCSG offers the facilities required to develop and test these innovative new designs under the high-pressure and high-temperature conditions found below the surface of the earth.

Accessible for businesses
The centre is accessible to all businesses wanting to test or experiment with new drilling techniques and materials for the generation of geothermal energy or for other sustainable applications. It gives them access to state-of-the-art facilities that they would otherwise find it difficult or impossible to access and saves them from having to invest in testing facilities themselves. As such facilities are usually very expensive, potentially crucial inventions could remain undiscovered.

Recreation of underground conditions
The centre possesses 20 installations that cover the entire spectrum of underground drilling conditions. A large drilling rig has been installed over a nearly 400-metre-deep well in which new materials and techniques can be tested. There are 300 and 400-tonne hydraulic presses, pressure tanks capable of accommodating up to 1,000 bar and piping systems for experiments in pumping fluids. All kinds of underground conditions can be recreated to discover how certain materials and components perform in high-pressure or high-temperature scenarios.

Our partners discussing the innovation lab

Ton de Jong, Director of Energy Transition at TNO talking about the RCSG:
“Sustainable use of the subsoil has been on TNO’s research agenda for years. Our research focuses on extracting both low and high-temperature geothermal heat, temporarily storing energy in the ground and capturing CO2 during the phase-out of the fossil-fuel energy system. The RCSG enables businesses and knowledge institutions to closely collaborate on the development of new technology and to take huge steps in the transition to a sustainable energy system.”

Jan Willem Hoogstraten, CEO of EBN:
“In the Netherlands, the future of sustainable energy above the ground largely depends on knowledge and appreciation of what goes on below the ground. The centre helps us to develop technology that can facilitate the social and economic development of the ground beneath our feet. EBN wants to accelerate the energy transition by developing knowledge, technology and innovation. The centre can play a vital role in developing and reinforcing growth markets such as geothermal energy and storage of CO2, hydrogen and heat.”

Sandor Gaastra, Director-General at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate:
“Geothermal energy can make a vital contribution to green heating. The geothermal energy sector is relatively young and undergoing rapid development. The centre offers accessible facilities to experiment with new techniques and materials, which will substantially accelerate this development.”

Berend Potjer, Provincial Executive Member for Energy at the Province of Zuid-Holland:
“We are proud to have this cutting-edge centre in our province as boosts our status as a world leader in geothermal energy. We already possess a great deal of expertise in this field, which is no fluke given the suitability of Zuid-Holland’s subsoil for the extraction of geothermal energy. Furthermore, there is great demand for heating in our densely populated province, so supply and demand are perfectly matched. After so much pioneering work in recent years, it’s now time to scale up and start heating houses with geothermal energy as well as just greenhouses.”

Armand van de Laar, Alderman at the Municipality of Rijswijk:
“As well as helping to advance the energy transition, this project will also drive development in the area. The investment will create new business activity and dynamism in Plaspoelpolder. Rijswijk is happy to welcome all visitors and clients to the new testing centre as well as any other businesses who want to help realise a more sustainable world and are looking for office, manufacturing or laboratory space. Here, innovation and a fertile business climate go hand in hand.”

 

On 7 February, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) opened the application process for its Innovation Credit 2020 scheme. The budget for 2020 is €60 million: €30 million for technical developments and €30 million for clinical development projects. In order to be eligible for Innovation Credit, entrepreneurs must be working on the technical development of a new product or on the clinical development of a medicine or medical aid. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency is keen to fund promising projects in which banks and other investors are reluctant to invest.

All businesses from start-ups to established corporations can benefit from Innovation Credit. The size of the company determines the percentage of credit for which it is eligible. The maximum amount of credit available for clinical developments is €5 million and the maximum amount for technical development projects is €10 million.

Click here for more information on the scheme and how to apply for it.

Kadans Science Partner and Shell Global Solutions International B.V. have signed a contract for the purchase of Kessler Park in Rijswijk’s Plaspoelpolder district. This acquisition further expands Kadans’s current network of knowledge-intensive locations and allows Kadans to work towards a sustainable future for Kessler Park.