Building Dutch control points through High-Tech Megaclusters
In an era where technological advancements dictate the pace of global competitiveness, the Netherlands stands at a critical juncture. To maintain and enhance our economic and technological resilience, it is imperative that we invest strategically through the development of new High-Tech Megaclusters.
High-tech megaclusters are large-scale innovation hubs focused on the most strategic key enabling technologies, building on existing public-private ecosystems. They are set to become the driving force behind a new generation of Dutch tech champions. In these mission-driven clusters, companies, knowledge institutions, governments, and investors collaborate intensively on technologies such as quantum, integrated photonics, and batteries. Companies gain access to modern lab facilities, high-tech equipment, and pilot production lines. This enables them to share risks, scale up faster, and strengthen their global competitiveness. This paper calls on the Dutch government to invest purposefully in megaclusters.
Read in the paper how megaclusters:
- Are essential to remain a global leader in key technologies such as photonics and quantum;
- Contribute to the national goal of investing 3% of GDP in R&D;
- Strengthen our earning capacity and strengthen the startup-to-unicorn pipeline.
Contact us
-
Tom van der Horst
Functie:Business DirectorTom van der Horst (1963) is Business Director Strategies for Industry and Innovation at TNO. Within this programme he explores how key technologies such as integrated photonics, quantum and AI can help address societal challenges. This includes foresight studies, system analyses and strategic advice for governments, companies, regions and the European Commission. All with one goal: building strong public-private innovation programmes together.
-
Standplaats:Delft - Stieltjesweg
-
Email:Email Tom
-
LinkedIn:Tom on LinkedIn
-
Get inspired
State of Dutch Tech 2026: The Netherlands must dare to scale at a global level
New blueprint helps organisations share data reliably
Province Noord-Brabant, TNO and partners join forces on cybersecurity
Working towards better risk prediction for cardiac patients through secure data collaboration
TNO and Quobly join forces to advance industrial-scale silicon quantum technology
