As part of an NWO-supported public-private collaboration, measurement equipment specialists Bronkhorst and Krohne teamed up with the technical universities of Delft and Twente to bring flow meters into the next generation. Their goal: to develop new and innovative meters that could provide real-time insight and analytics of flowing media, all without having to interrupt the flow.

Author: Collin Arocho, Bits&Chips
Lead picture: An ultrasonic flow meter installed on a customer setup. Credit: Bronkhorst

All types of industries are working to find ways to collect data and use analytics to get the most out of their products. According to the experts at Bronkhorst High-Tech and Krohne Altometer, the flow measurement market is inevitably trending in the same direction. “We want to be able to measure more than just the flow of media through a pipe. We want to measure the flow plus other parameters like density, viscosity and other meaningful quantities,” explains Joost Lötters, science officer at Bronkhorst.

In industry, Lötters has spent more than two decades focused on developing mass flow meters used in measuring and controlling the flow of liquid and gas for a variety of applications in laboratory, machinery, industrial and hazardous areas. Next to this “day job” at Bronkhorst, he serves as a part-time professor of microfluidic handling systems at the technical universities (TUs) in both Delft and Twente. Meaning that when it comes to knowledge of the measurement equipment market, he has a firm grasp on customer demands, as well as the technological innovations that are needed in the domain.

In 2014, Lötters caught wind of the partnership research incentive program through the Dutch Research Council (NWO), where the council would match funds, from 3-10 million euros, to support public-private collaboration projects. With inside knowledge of the research capabilities at the TUs, he reached out to his colleagues at Krohne to help guide the development process of next-generation flow meters in a program called “Flow+” – aimed at collecting and harnessing valuable data to give customers more insight and to bring down costs.

Researchers were invited to submit proposals of how their idea would fit in the program. “We looked at the proposals through the lens of NASA’s technology readiness levels,” describes André Boer, Krohne’s general manager. “Typically, universities work up to level 3 or 4, the stage of a proof-of-concept or functional model. For Flow+, we wanted something more advanced: we wanted to go to TRL 6, a fully functional and transportable model, with the ambition to take it all the way to level 9 – mission success. We wanted to use our expertise to help the researchers bridge the gap and to get first-hand experience from industry, but also to get our products to the market.”

Ultrasonic

In all, collaborators received a total of 18 submissions of project designs. Four proposals made the final cut. Now, a few years later, two of the projects have already matured to TRL 5. The first of them is an ultrasonic flow meter, stemming from TU Delft. By clamping on this small device to a pipe, the system uses soundwaves to penetrate and measure the flow inside, collecting valuable information such as the pipe diameter, wall thickness and speed of the liquid.

“To do this requires a very intelligent system that can calibrate itself automatically in any setting,” depicts Jankees Hogendoorn, general manager of Krohne’s New Technologies Group. “In this setup, the system utilizes a phased array of transducers – a group of sensors – to steer the acoustic beam to specific points and specific planes to gather information from an entire cross-section of the pipe. This allows us to collect valuable data and determine flow velocity from point to point without the need to cut into the pipe.” Meaning end-users not only receive more accurate analytical data than ever before but can monitor the health and stability of pipelines while realizing faster installation with minimal risk of leaks and a reduction of the total cost.

“I’ve been working at Krohne for 35 years, and we started developing ultrasonic flow meters really early on, as this was one of our biggest wishes,” expresses general manager Boer. “While the ideas were there, when it came to actually producing such a tool – forget it. The technology being developed by TU Delft just didn’t exist 20 or 30 years ago. That’s one reason this collaboration with the TUs has been such a success in our eyes. Through this program, we’ve been able to make use of the latest developments and realize next-gen technology.”

Flow+ PhD student working on the micro Coriolis flow sensor in the lab at the UT. Credit: Flow+

Coriolis

The second of the most advanced projects is the thermal noise limited Coriolis flow meter, a collaboration between the TUs of Delft and Twente. A Coriolis-type flow sensor consists of a vibrating tube through which a fluid is flowing. The moving mass of the fluid results in Coriolis forces acting on the vibrating tube that can be detected and used to determine how much substance is passing per second. However, when measuring gasses, it can be a little tricky because of their low density – implying a lot of pressure is needed to push the gas flow through the pipe.

“By creating an inline solution, we can collect all the relevant data and ensure that the high-throughput processes can be controlled and adjusted in real time, thus, limiting downtime of the system,” explains Lötters. “At Bronkhorst, we specialize in using the Coriolis principle for ultra-low liquid flow rates and we would like to improve this principle for measuring gas flows. But to do that, we need to dramatically improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the device, since the mass flows for gases are much lower than those for liquids due to their lower densities.”

To find a solution, Twente assumed the role of improving the sensitivity of the sensors to measure lower flows. Meanwhile, Delft took to upgrading the electronics used to decrease the noise level. After a few iterations of in-house development, this team is close to achieving a custom ASIC chip that will be integrated with the enhanced sensor from Twente en route to a market-viable product.

Printed circuit board with the micro Coriolis flow sensor chip mounted in the middle. Credit: Flow+

Plus

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so we still have to see how it all integrates, but I would call this cooperative effort a success,” says Lötters. “There are still some questions we’re addressing as we advance through the technology readiness levels. But our vision of measuring ‘flow plus something else’ is being realized. Now, we measure flow. Next, we’ll measure flow plus quantities such as density, viscosity and heat capacity. Finally, we’ll go towards recognition of gases, liquids, and determination of the composition of gas and liquid mixtures, for example by adding a machine-learning component. It’s a step-by-step process, but that’s the direction we’re going.”

In terms of future application of the Flow+ solutions, the market possibilities are quite diverse. “Applications of these systems range from medical solutions like measuring the composition of medicine mixtures of multi-infusion setups in hospitals and nutrition supply and waste drainage in organ-on-a-chip systems to energy content measurement in mixtures of fuel gases or research on catalysts and recipes for effectively extracting oil from wells in the oil and gas industry and many others,” illustrates Lötters. “All of these industries rely on the monitoring and measurement of both the flow in a pipeline and the content of the flowing media.”

Flow+

For the Flow+ project, measurement equipment specialists Bronkhorst High-Tech and Krohne Altometer teamed up with Delft University of Technology and the University of Twente to develop next-generation flow meters with enhanced data collection capabilities and increased sensitivity. The project is co-funded by Holland High Tech, Top Sector HTSM, and the Dutch Research Council (NWO), with a public-private partnership grant for research and innovation.

Article via Holland High Tech news

Press release Amsterdam Scientific Instruments

Amsterdam Scientific Instruments B.V. (“ASI”) today announced that Amsterdam Scientific Instruments B.V. has appointed Thorbjoern Schoenbeck as CEO and chairman of the executive board.

In addition, Hans Brouwer and Steven Tan, who managed ASI since 2017, will join the executive board. The new leadership appointments are effective immediately and will enable ASI to execute its ambitious corporate development strategy focused on continuous innovation and persistent growth.

“We are fortunate to have someone of Thorbjoern’s caliber and experience joining ASI,” said Hans Brouwer. “After having developed ASI from a small academic startup to a fast-growing company with a robust organization, top-tier customer base and mature product portfolio, we need renewed leadership to successfully bring the company to the next phase of development and growth. Thorbjoern has a strong background in high-tech and a proven track record commercializing advanced instrumentation. He is a strong communicator who understands our customers, both academic and industrial. Furthermore, having served in various sales leadership roles at Malvern Panalytical for the past 14 years, Thorbjoern has a solid understanding of our products and markets.”

Thorbjoern Schoenbeck said, “I am honored and excited to lead ASI. I believe ASI has a great team, a unique innovation power and a wonderful portfolio of products that will empower researchers around the world to push the frontiers of life sciences and physics and to force breakthrough innovations that will change the world.”

Speaking on behalf of Value Creation Capital, one of ASI’s investors, Willem van den Berg said, “We very much appreciate Steven Tan and Hans Brouwer for developing and driving ASI to its current successful position and for having the awareness and insight that new leadership and governance is required in anticipation of the next phase of the development of ASI. We believe that Thorbjoern has the right expertise, communication skills and leadership abilities to inspire the team and deliver on ASI’s ambitions.”

Source: ASI press release

Press release Rijksoverheid: Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat (kerndepartement)

France and the Netherlands will cooperate intensively in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). The national AI coalitions of both countries will jointly investigate how SMEs can make optimal use of AI; both countries will use agricultural data to increase the possibilities of AI for farmers; entrepreneurs and researchers who want to apply for EU subsidies for new inventions together can count on more support from both governments.

These and other agreements were made during the first digital innovation mission to France, from 25 to 27 January 2021. Under the leadership of State Secretary Mona Keijzer (Economic Affairs and Climate) and her French colleague Cédric O, 160 Dutch and 120 French entrepreneurs and researchers spoke. about how they can reinforce each other.

State Secretary Mona Keijzer (EZK): “In recent years, France and the Netherlands have sought more convergence in the field of digitization and AI. We think the same about this in various areas: it has enormous potential for our citizens and companies, but it must be safe, fair and people-oriented. We are well matched when it comes to AI, and together we can take on the world. We confirmed this on our innovation mission. The collaboration with this economic superpower in Europe will yield a lot to our entrepreneurs and researchers: not only knowledge, but also potential customers. In the area of ​​mobility, for example, we can contribute with our smart digital traffic solutions to the smooth running of the Olympic Games that will take place in Paris in 2024.”

AI for entrepeneurs

Both the Netherlands and France have a national organization within which governments, entrepreneurs and researchers want to get the most out of AI. The Netherlands has the Dutch AI Coalition; France the Hub France IA. These coalitions will work together to ensure that as many entrepreneurs and researchers as possible can reap the benefits of AI. They focus, among other things, on SMEs, startups and scale-ups. They will also investigate whether AI products should be certified that guarantees their high standard.

Stronger together in Europe

The European Union provides various grants to researchers and entrepreneurs for the development of new (digital) products and services. This is done through the Horizon and Digital Europe programs, among other things. Of all European countries, French parties get the most funding from these programs; The Netherlands is in fifth place.

The Franco-Dutch innovation mission has resulted in France and the Netherlands collaborating more closely when applying for this European subsidy for AI projects. This gives our research institutions and entrepreneurs a greater chance of receiving the European funds. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy has reserved an additional 99 million euros in total to help finance Dutch proposals.

Agriculture and health

The Netherlands and France are both major producers of food: the second and third exporter of agricultural products in the world. In order to maintain this position, it is important to make agriculture and horticulture ever more efficient and at the same time to make it more sustainable, so that the largest possible, nutritious yield is achieved with as few raw materials as possible. AI and data play an increasingly important role in that process. During the innovation mission, the Netherlands and France agreed to collaborate in the field of agricultural data from agricultural data so that this can benefit farmers and horticulturists. For example, they can determine more precisely when to harvest and how much nutrients are needed.

Both countries will also investigate what AI can mean for healthcare. For example, through a Dutch invention – the Personal Health Train – AI can make it possible for individuals to make their health data available to scientists, while at the same time having complete control over what happens with their data. A separate innovation mission will be organized later this year in the field of AI and health.

Photo by Gertrūda Valasevičiūtė on Unsplash

The Netherlands will be the center for global food innovation with the Global Coordinating Secretariat (GCS) in Wageningen. Prime Minister Rutte announced this during a digital meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The GCS is part of the food system initiative of the WEF to drive innovations and new technologies in the food chain that contribute to global food security. From the Netherlands, the GCS directs the further development of global regional food innovation hubs, including the European hub in Food Valley Wageningen.

Worldwide, nearly 2 billion people lack access to adequate, nutritious and safe food and 690 million people suffer from chronic hunger or lack of proper nutrition. The expected growth of the world population and the consequences of the climate crisis only increase the urgency of this food insecurity. So we have to produce more and smarter food than ever before.

Minister Schouten of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality: “The Dutch agri-food, horticulture and breeding sectors are global players when it comes to knowledge and techniques for the sustainable production and processing of food. This knowledge and innovation is already going all over the world, for example Simon Groot’s company East-West Seed, which provides millions of small farmers with good seeds. With FoodValley as the European Food Hub in the WEF and the Global Coordinating Secretariat in the Netherlands, we can share that knowledge and expertise much more with the world. ”

Minister Van ‘t Wout of Economic Affairs and Climate: “The Dutch economy is one of the most innovative in the world. With the arrival of the Global Coordinating Secretariat, we can use our innovative strength even better to contribute to food security in the world. With a strong combination of companies and knowledge institutions in agri-food, horticulture, breeding, high-tech and ICT, we have all the factors in-house to play a leading role and to shape the necessary changes in the food system.”

Food Innovation Hubs

Changing the way we produce and consume food requires globally scalable innovations that match regional conditions. The regional Food Hubs play a crucial role in this by bringing farmers, companies, scientists and (other) parties from the food chain together to develop innovations and business and revenue models that contribute to a sustainable and future-proof food system. Hubs have been set up in Asia, Africa and Central and South America. FoodValley has been appointed as the European Food Hub at the global tables since November.

Global Coordinating Secretariat

The cabinet and development company Oost NL (commissioned by the province of Gelderland and the province of Overijssel) support the GCS financially and by forming a small core team. The GCS will help the regional hubs scale up, drive new regional hubs and build global partnerships for innovation. Together they ensure that knowledge and innovation for a healthy and sustainable food system are better spread around the world.

2020: it was an eventful year, also for all PPP grant projects. Laboratories were closed, travel to and from abroad (and thus appointments of research personnel) was not possible, private parties could no longer fulfill their commitments to collaborative research, and people were ill for a long time because researchers can also contract COVID-19.

Survey: many obstacles and delay

In a survey, 46 projects – partly funded with HTSM PPP Allowance – reported experiencing limitations and 76% of these were delayed. In short: the COVID-19 crisis also presents many obstacles to HTSM PPP projects, just as it affects many other innovation developments.

Projects were still able to continue due to postponement

Looking back on the past year, the impact on these PPP allowance projects is fortunately not too bad. This is due to the great creativity of the project implementers and to the flexibility of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and RVO. The national government soon came up with a leniency rule; when projects financed in 2014, 2015 and 2016 were demonstrably delayed by COVID-19, they were considered for a maximum delay of 6 months.

Two types of restrictions

The PPP Allowance projects roughly deal with two types of restrictions. In one category we find relatively new projects that are funded from relatively recent program grant years (2017 – 2019), with problems due to appointments, travel restrictions and lab closures. Because the use period for the funds will continue for a number of years, the delay that has arisen can still be made up there and no postponement is being considered.

The other category concerns projects financed from program allowance years 2014 – 2016 with a planned end date in 2021. A substantial part of these HTSM allowance projects are carried out in a European context, such as projects in the aviation industry. These projects often also partly include European funding, for which a postponement has often been promised by the European partners.

Creative solutions

RVO has a strong preference not to extend projects from the “oldest” grant years, because these HTSM projects already had a postponed end date. This has forced the project implementers to find creative solutions, such as switching completed projects from newer allowance years with delayed projects from older allowance years. As a result – until now – all planned PPP Allowance projects

Source: Holland High Tech News

The Seed Capital scheme, which RVO implements on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK), has existed for 15 years. Thanks to the scheme, the Dutch venture capital market has expanded enormously since 2005 and access to venture capital for start-ups has improved significantly. 87 Seed Capital funds have already been set up to provide 472 start-ups with venture capital. In total, more than € 414 million was invested, of which around € 203 million came from the government.

Thanks to these investments, good results have been achieved over the past 15 years. To commemorate its 15th anniversary, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) publishes the anniversary book “Innovative Netherlands in bloom – 15 years of Seed Capital 2005 – 2020”.

It contains interviews with a number of fund managers, in which some examples of success of participations pass in review. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK), the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) and some advisory committee members also give their views on the scheme. Finally, the results of the past 15 years are clearly presented at the back. You can download the publication here (Dutch PDF).

Further development

The Seed Capital scheme has been further developed in recent years. For example, since the end of 2016 it has been possible to open sector-specific tenders that tie in with important economic and social themes such as sustainability, agri-horti-food and e-health. The separate e-health tender from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) is a good example of this.

In addition, a separate section was opened in 2017 especially for couples of business angels: the Seed Business Angel scheme. Through this scheme, business angels deliver ‘smart money’ to start-ups in the very early stages of life by supporting them with their knowledge, network and experience.

New sectors

The Seed Capital advisory committee looks back with pride on the past 15 years and sees that the scheme is still desperately needed. Initially, mainly funds were set up with a focus on IT and life sciences. In recent years, more and more new funds have been added that focus on food, social impact and clean tech, for example. Chairman of the advisory committee Michel van Bremen therefore sees the Seed Capital scheme as a kind of icebreaker for new sectors: “Every time a new sector arises, the Seed Capital scheme attracts investors to it. Without the support of the Seed Capital scheme, they would not have dared to invest. After all, new segments are risky. ”

Cooperation

The Dutch health market benefits from e-health innovations due to the increasing demand for care. In order to attract more risk capital in this sector, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport sought cooperation with EZK. In 2017, this resulted in the opening of a separate e-health tender within the Seed Capital scheme. NextGen Ventures is one of the Seed Capital funds that was established thanks to this tender and that helps e-health start-ups in their development. According to fund manager Matthijs Blokhuis, the Seed Capital scheme makes NextGen Ventures easier and attracts more investors: “The fact that we meet the requirements for Seed Capital inspires confidence among investors. That makes it more attractive for me as a fund manager to invest early in start-ups in a risky market. ”

Over Seed Capital

The Seed Capital-scheme is aimd at innovative techno- and creative startups  who need access to risk capital investment. Since January 1, 2021 a new rond of the Seed Capital-regeling is open and investors can apply for funding to establish a new Seed Capital fund.

Are you an entrepreneur? You can apply direct to the Seed Capital investment funds. Check the complete alfabetical overview of funds (in Dutch) or the overview per sector.

On this page you will find briefly the most important information about this round. Always read the manual (call for proposals) before writing an application. Once the round is open, you will find all the necessary documents at the bottom of this page.

Assessment criteria

An application is assessed on 3 criteria:

  • Question articulation
    Is the research question demonstrably based on the question from professional practice?
  • Networking
    Does the consortium include the relevant parties to answer the research question and to ensure further dissemination of the research results, both in SMEs and in vocational trainin
  • Research plan
    Does the research build on state-of-the-art knowledge, do the research methods fit the research question, can the research be traced and is the project planning and organization realistic?
    In the assessment of an application, the research plan weighs in for 50%, demand articulation and network formation each for 25%.

Requirements for consortium partners

The research project is carried out by a consortium that, in addition to the university of applied sciences, consists of at least 6 SMEs, supplemented by a trade association or another organization that has the objective of stimulating innovation in SMEs. Of the required 6 SMEs, at least 5 must be established in the Netherlands.
The staff of a university of applied sciences do not maintain direct family ties with and / or have no business interests in the SMEs involved.
Self-employed persons can be part of the consortium instead of SMEs. A self-employed person must then be part of a collective that demonstrably focuses on innovation and / or economic growth.
The consortium partners, including the university college itself, contribute at least 50% of the total project costs. Co-financing can be in cash or in kind.
General subsidy conditions
As an applicant you are responsible for making agreements with the consortium partners about access to and rights to research results and, if applicable, about intellectual property. You must also make agreements about open access publications and data management and the ethical aspects of your research.

Start and implementation of the project

Has your application been granted? Then your project will start between September 2021 and January 2021. During the term of the project you are obliged to keep the SIA Regieorgaan informed of the progress of the project. And of any changes in the composition of the consortium or changes in the research compared to the original research plan. Read more about monitoring your project on our project management page.

Submit via ISAAC

You can only submit your application via ISAAC. ISAAC is NWO’s digital application and reporting system. In ISAAC you will always find the correct and most up-to-date forms for your application. The forms offered on this website are an example. See our page about ISAAC for practical information about the system.

Read more (in Dutch) about the RAAK MKB proposal submission here.

Press release DSM, Geleen, NL, 11 Jan 2021 09:00 CET

Royal DSM, a global science-based company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, and TU Delft, ranked among the top universities in biotechnology research globally, today announce the establishment of the Artificial Intelligence Lab for Biosciences (the AI4B.io Lab). This laboratory will be the first of its kind in Europe to apply artificial intelligence (AI) to full-scale biomanufacturing, from microbial strain development to process optimization and scheduling.

The AI4B.io Lab will be part of the Dutch National Innovation Center for AI (ICAI), which works to keep the Netherlands at the forefront of knowledge and talent development in AI. It will be led by Professor Marcel Reinders, Director TU Delft Bioengineering Institute. DSM regards biosciences as an important tool for addressing climate change and resource scarcity and optimizing the global food system so will invest €2.5 million into the laboratory over the first five years.

With more than 150 years of experience, DSM has already developed an extensive portfolio of sustainable, bio-based solutions that help address some of the key challenges facing society. Now, developments in the understanding of biology, as well as major advances in digital transformation, are opening up exciting possibilities for new bio-based products, applications, and manufacturing processes. Integrating biosciences and digital technologies can help to reduce the time spent on innovation cycles, from prototyping to scaling and commercialization.

Bringing the desired objective to life, digitally

Traditionally, scientific research is based on trial and error within multiple sub-studies that work together toward a specific objective, such as a new product or production technology. What makes AI unique is that it allows scientists to invert this process. The desired objective is brought to life in a digital environment using ‘digital twins’ (a virtual ‘mirror’ of the desired real-world situation), while machine learning helps determine how to achieve it. Although AI is already widely applied in engineering research – for instance, to replace physical wind turbines or tunnels with digital twins – the AI4B.io Lab will be the first of its kind to explore AI’s potential in biosciences and biotechnology.

No innovation without collaboration

Working closely together with partners can drive progress and create access to new technologies. For this reason, DSM decided to partner with TU Delft in setting up and developing the AI4B.io Lab. It will be the third ICAI Lab on the TU Delft campus, joining the AI for Retail Lab Delft of Ahold Delhaize, and the AI for Fintech Lab of ING. Additionally, TU Delft will invest in 24 interdisciplinary AI laboratories on a broad range of topics to further drive collaboration between scientists working in AI and scientists from other domains. The AI4B.io Lab will also collaborate with Planet B.io, the open-innovation ecosystem at the Biotech Campus Delft – for instance, by providing research insights and consultancy to biotechnology startups on the campus. Both DSM and TU Delft are founding partners of Planet B.io.

Through these extensive and broad collaborations, the partnership will further strengthen the position of Delft as the bio-economy capital of the world.

Professor Marcel Reinders, Director TU Delft Bioengineering Institute: ‘’Biotechnology can contribute significantly to solving major societal challenges, such as climate change, healthy nutrition for the world’s rapidly growing population, and raw material scarcity. AI plays a crucial role in the development of biotechnology applications, but – scientifically speaking – there are still many unanswered questions at the cellular, lab, and process level. By linking our fundamental research to concrete opportunities at DSM, we can maximize our impact.”
Marcus Remmers, Chief Technology Officer DSM: “TU Delft has a proven track record of groundbreaking research in AI, bioengineering, and bioinformatics. DSM is a global, science-based company that creates sustainable, bio-based products and solutions at commercial scale. This makes our parties the perfect match to tackle important scientific and societal challenges together.”

Cindy Gerhardt, Managing Director Planet B.io: ‘’At Planet B.io, we stimulate open innovation and collaboration between startups, corporations, and knowledge institutes to develop bio-based products and solutions. We look forward to working together with the AI4B.io Lab to maximize the potential of AI and biosciences.’’

In 2021 the MinacNed teams plans to continue the sucess of the iMNC pre-events. We need your input to help us organise events that you want to join. Every month we will host an online meeting for MinacNed members to discuss with each other about a specific topic of interest. In a  1.5 hour online session we can invite guest keynote speakers and offer spots for company pitches to MinacNed members.

Share your ideas

The pre-event meetings are organised for MinacNed members. To get to know each other, to find new contacts and to learn from each other. Are you interested to pitch your idea for a theme? Would you like to join the company pitch? Send an email to Aurélie Veltema via a.veltema@minacned.nl.
There is no limit on the number of collegues you bring from your company or organisation, all MinacNed members are invited to join.We will send the invitations via direct mail or you can register via the MinacNed website. Keep your eye on the event page for updates.

Live events after Corona

Once the Corona crisis has passed and we can organize live events, we will continue these monthly meetins at a live location. We will also host network drinks and offer opportunities for you to meet the other MinacNed members. We look forward to seeing you, online and during our live events on site.

Delft, 25 November 2020 – QuTech (a collaboration between TU Delft and TNO), KPN, SURF and OPNT are launching a collaboration designed to make significant progress in building a first ever quantum network connecting the Randstad, i.e. one of the main metropolitan regions in The Netherlands. The project will focus on connecting different quantum processors, a significant distance apart, over a Dutch network. The aim is to build the very first fully functional quantum network using high-speed fibre connections.

Fundamentally secure communication
A quantum network is a radically new internet technology, with the potential for creating pioneering applications. Such a network connects quantum processors to each other via optical channels, and this enables the exchange of so-called quantum bits (qubits). Qubits have a number of features that make them very different from the bits we currently know and use in classical networks. For example, quantum communication is potentially immune to eavesdropping practices. Quantum communication networks are expected to evolve over time towards a global quantum network, and this would allow secure communication; position verification; clock synchronisation; computation using external quantum computers; and more. Among other things, the project is intended to lead to new techniques, insights and standards that will bring a quantum network closer.

Fundamental and industrial research
Building a quantum network that enables all of the pioneering applications mentioned above is a unique challenge, and one that forms the focus for TKI project partners*. Around the world, researchers are working hard to turn quantum networks into reality, but all existing solutions are based on a simpler technology. This provides the incentive for TKI-partners to contribute to building a fully functional quantum network.

The quantum internet ecosystem of the future
Different parties in the collaboration each contribute their own areas of expertise. Ultimately, the mix of skills will help to create a programmable quantum network that connects quantum processors in different cities. Erwin van Zwet, Internet Division Engineering Lead at QuTech, underlined the project’s importance: “Working with these partners, we expect to have taken significant steps towards a quantum network by the end of the TKI project.”

Although the technology is still at an early stage, all four parties see the benefit of joining forces now. Wojciech Kozlowski, a postdoc at QuTech and responsible for one of the work packages in the TKI project: “Every day we are working on finding answers to the question of how network operators, such as KPN or SURF, can deploy a quantum network, and what sort of services they can offer their users. Although we are still in an early stage of development, we are already building the quantum internet ecosystem of the future by working with key partners. This ecosystem will prove crucial as our quantum network evolves into a fully-fledged quantum internet.”