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Million Euro EU funding for consortium from Twente working on a rapid test for detecting corona virus

A consortium of companies from Twente can count on one million Euro funding from the European Union and the province of Overijssel to develop a rapid test to detect viruses such as corona.

D’Andrea and Evers Desgin from Enter, Holland Innovative and Micronit Microtechnologies from Enschede, Elect High-Tech Electronics from Weerselo and NYtor from Nijmegen will receive a subsidy of over 1.1 million euros from the EU and the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel. The total costs amount to almost 2.8 million euros.

The companies are developing a “lab-on-a-chip detection platform” in the so-called VIRAPOC project. With modern technologies such as nanotechnology, life sciences, semiconductor and photonics, a virus can be quickly recognized. The method can be used in major virus outbreaks such as the current corona pandemic.

Prevent home quarantine

Rapid detection of a virus is very important to prevent further spread. It is also important to be able to track down people who carry the virus, but who show little or no symptoms of disease. A quick test can also prevent unnecessary and lengthy isolation or home quarantine.

This reduces the impact of local virus outbreaks for both the economy and the individual. “The project makes an important contribution to combating the consequences of major virus outbreaks and limiting the social and economic effects,” said Eddy van Hijum, Provincial Executive of the Overijssel province.

Direct reuse of wastewater

Another Overijssels project is also financially supported with 1.1 million euros. It concerns the NANOX project, which may eventually be a solution to the drinking water issue in Overijssel. It focuses on the direct reuse of (treated) wastewater as drinking water, or an equivalent application, so that no or much less groundwater needs to be used.

The innovation of this project lies in the combination of the “Hollow fiber nanofiltration” and “Advanced UV” technology. The combination of these techniques, developed by the partners themselves, leads to a greatly improved and sustainable water treatment process for wastewater from sewage treatment plants, or polluted surface water. The companies working on this are: NX Filtration (Enschede), Jotem Water Treatment (Vriezenveen), Van Remmen UV (Wijhe), Demcon (Optiqua) (Enschede) and Saxion (Enschede).

In addition to the Overijssel projects, two Gelderland projects have also been awarded funding in the field of innovative potato cultivation and electric ground drilling machines.

Source: Tubantia, news

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67.5 million venture capital for start-ups

Good news for Dutch start-ups in the early phase. From now on they can call on € 67.5 million in venture capital, which is divided over 6 new investment funds. No less than € 32 million of this came from the most recent tender for the Seed Capital scheme from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate.

With this scheme, private investors and the government together fill funds for start-ups, with the government contributing up to 50%.

Need for capital and knowledge

Start-ups put the Netherlands on the world map with their new products and services, thus providing income and jobs, says State Secretary Mona Keijzer (EZK). “To ensure that start-ups in our country continue to get off the ground and can continue to grow, they need capital and knowledge. The Seed Capital scheme provides for this: private, experienced investors bring in expertise and capital, and the government doubles their investment. It is good to see that confidence in our start-ups is high, as evidenced by the participation of the ABP pension fund. ”

The 6 new funds

  • Rockstart Energy Fund: with this, pension fund APB invests through investor APG in start-ups involved in the energy transition.
  • Borski Fund: female entrepreneurs can go here.
  • Rubio Impact Ventures: for start-ups with a focus on sustainability.
  • CapitalT: focus on data and software for healthcare, education and business operations, among others.
  • LUMO Fund II: focused on the software behind the latest technologies, such as AI and Virtual Reality.
  • Percival Participations III: for entrepreneurs who want to grow a company based on a patented or protected technology.

15 years of Seed Capital

The Seed Capital scheme has existed for 15 years this year. Since 2005, 468 start-ups have been provided with venture capital by a total of 87 Seed Capital funds. The total investment amounts to more than € 400 million, of which about € 197 million comes from the government.

New tender open to investors

As an investor, do you want to invest in start-ups together with the government? A new tender for the Seed Capital scheme has been opened from 1 to 31 October 2020. The budget is € 20 million and the maximum loan per fund is € 10 million. By submitting an application, investors can apply for a loan to set up an investment fund. Start-ups can contact the funds themselves for more information and applications.

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Professional video offer for iMNC2020 exhibitors

The exhibitors have started to build their exhibitor booth for the online conference on December 3 and 4, 2020. As part of the booth, you have the option to show a marketing video as a testimonial or presentation of your company.

As we realize not all companies have a video available, MinacNed offers a video production deal for you. We have a video partner Studio Lek who offer you a 2 minute promotion video shot at your company location. You can use these 2 minutes to showcase your product or service, you can show facilities and you can give a short pitch to give an excellent impression of your company. This video is yours to use on your website and in other conferences as well.

Here is a link to a showreel for an impression of the work Studio Lek has done.

How does this work?

As an exhibitor you are first in line for this video production offer. We use this video in your virtual exhibitor booth.

During the months October-November we set up a meeting for 2 hours at your location. In advance of production and shooting, Studio Lek will set up a script with your input. After the shooting date,  Studio Lek will  produce a professional marketing video to use on your own website and at iMNC2020 in your booth. All work will be done in accordance with Corona regulations.

Total price for this marketing video is 750,- ex VAT.

Read more about exhibitor opportunities at iMNC2020.

For more details or to set up a video project, contact Aurélie Veltema at a.veltema@minacned.nl.

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Call for your input: Smart industry project NanoBio

The NanoBio research group is involved in many different application- and industry-oriented research projects. One of these projects is “Industrial Expert (INDEX)”, an EU Erasmus+ project, in which we aim with several other European partners to develop advanced training courses for professionals on Industry 4.0, which is also known as Smart Industry (for a short definition see below this email). For this we need your help.

This online survey will help us to identify specific training needs regarding Industry 4.0 in your organization (company, R&D institution or consulting firm) and enables us to define the learning contents for the INDEX training course.

To access the survey, please go to the online survey.

More info on the project INDEX, can be found at: https://industrialexpert.eu/

Thank you for your time and effort.
In case of question, do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours,
Martin Bennink
Professor (lector) NanoBio

Industry 4.0 or Smart Industry is identified as the 4th industrial revolution, which is about the means of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies, which includes facets such as cyber-physical systems, internet-of-things (IoT), big data and analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), sensor technology, augmented reality, additive manufacturing, simulation, horizontal and vertical system integration, autonomous robots as well as cloud computing.

It serves a role to help integrate and combine intelligent machines, human actors, physical objects, manufacturing lines and processes across organizational stages to build new types of technical data, systems and high agility value chains.

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First pre-event iMNC2020 on public-private collaboration very successful – Up next the Nano4Agri/Food event

On September 23, the iMNC2020 hosted the first pre-meeting for iMNC2020, with 2 excellent keynote presentations from Ronny van t Oever (Micronit and Viralert initiative) and Maarten de Zwart (NWO). During the Q&A, led by moderator Prof Maarten Honing (Maastricht University) participants could ask their questions and this led to interesting discussion with the two keynotes.

This was the first session in the online platform iChair and the first online event for iMNC2020. Maarten Honing concluded that the discussion was so interesting, he had not been able to complete all his questions and that there was much more to discuss during the sessions on December 3 and 4, 2020. The iMNC2020 team looks forward to more lively discussions during the public-private collaborations track at the international MicroNanoConference 2020.

Pre-event Nano4Agri/Food

The organization looks forward to the next pre-meeting on Thursday October 7, 2020:

Micro and nanotechnology for agriculture and food production
Opportunities for a sustainable future.

During this session, Prof Karin Schroën (Wageningen University/University of Twente) will invite 2 keynote speakers from industry and science to discuss their own experience in the development and use of micro- and nanotechnology in agriculture and food production.

Both micro- and nanotechnology hold great promises to create more sustainable food production. But how to capitalize on this? Can production on the land be made more efficient through these two technologies, or should we consider vertical farming? And can we make better use of the various ingredients that are available, and possibly go to a situation in which food is designed such that it contributes to a longer healthy life? And if yes, would consumers also accept these innovations?

The keynote from industry is by dr. Marcel Zevenbergen, IMEC. He will be joined by dr. Frans Kampers from Wageningen University, Strategy advisor. The keynote speakers will be interviewed during a Q&A after their talk by Prof Karin Schroen, and will discuss their own experience and their vision on future developments in the field of food.

Registration

As a registered participant of iMNC2020, you can participate in all five pre-events. For new registrations to attend the iMNC2020 and all pre-events: Register here.

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Nanotechnology roadmap update October 2020

At the end of 2019, the vision for Nanotechnology into the future was presented by the nanotechnology ecosystem consisting of NanoNextNl, MinacNed and NanoLabNl. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an English-language update was published containing the contribution that nanotechnology is making to the solutions to the Corona crisis. Enclosed you will find this update 2020. With this Nano4Society forms a solid basis. Now is the time to take the next step towards the future of collaboration and making this vision concrete. Download the NanoVision 2030 (in PDF)

The nanotechnology roadmap is now being updated with input from industrial and scientific partners. MinacNed, NanoNextNL and NanoLabNL are working together on this and will take your input with them to develop the nanotechnology roadmap in an update that will be presented at the end of October.

Key technology

Nanotechnology is not a stand alone technology, but contributes to solutions for technical and societal issues. This makes nanotechnology as a key technology very important for other technological developments within the societal themes. As a key technology, there is in many cases overlap in the technology domain with other roadmaps. We ask you to name the nanotechnology therein in order to be able to clarify the interaction between the various roadmaps. Nanotechnology is often an enabling part of the solution and will be more “inside” the solution.

The project team for the roadmap will meet this week to identify where nanotechnology can contribute. In October, the project team will present the roadmap update, and we need your input for that now. We now ask you:

Where does nanotechnology contribute as a key technology to the solutions in your sector or more specifically in your company?

We will send you a questionnaire that will ask for input from your company or institution. This information will be treated confidentially and processed in such a way that it cannot be traced back to your authority. The information is important in order to be able to clarify the impact of investments in key enabling technology nanotechnology on the quality of life (societal challenges) and the economy (earning capacity).

Send your own answer to this question to roadmapinput@minacned.nl and contribute directly to the future of nanotechnology. Your input is of great value to provide a clear picture of where the sector is now and where we can grow, collaborate and excel in the future.

The deadline for input is September 28, 2020. Send your input to Ronny van ’t Oever, chair of the roadmap Nanotechnology at roadmapinput@minacned.nl.

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Register now: First iMNC2020 pre-meeting on public private collaboration in times of pandemic

On September 23rd the first of the five pre-meetings will take place, leading up to iMNC2020. This event is about lessons learnt from public-private collaboration in times of a pandemic crisis.

Public Private Collaborations – Lessons learnt in times of pandemic collaboration
How to involve SME’s and address their interests

The first pre-iMNC2020 meeting will take place on September 23 2020 in a virtual conference room. During this session, Prof Maarten Honing (Maastricht University) will invite 2 keynote speakers from industry and science to discuss their own experience in collaborating on public-private partnerships in times of COVID-19 pandemic.

What are the lessons learnt from projects where SME’s, scientists and large industry partners work together to find solutions for the medical and societal problems caused by the global pandemic?

The keynote from industry is Ronny van ‘t Oever, Micronit and the Viralert Initiative. He will be joined by a keynote speaker from science. The keynotes, who will be interviewed for a Q&A after their talk by Prof Maarten Honing will discuss their own experience and their vision on future collaborations.

September 23, 2020
Online meeting via iMNC2020 ichair
16:30-18:00 hrs

Register now!

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iMNC2020 brings science and industry together: pre-events, abstract submission and registration open

The International MicroNanoConference brings together science and industry to showcase how micro- and nanotechnology help addressing our societal challenges: Nano4Society. Like every year, we will focus on four sub-themes:

And as a special edition this year: Public Private Collaborations – Lessons learnt in times of pandemic collaboration: How to involve SME’s and address their interests.

Register now!

Pre-events planned

As a warm-up, we will start with 5 pre-meetings leading up to iMNC2020. The first pre-meeting is a session on lessons learnt from public-private collaboration in times of a pandemic crisis. During the Corona crisis, SME’s, large industry and scientists from research institutes worked together to find solutions for societal and medical problems. What lessons can we learn from these collaborations? The keynotes, who will be interviewed for a Q&A after their talk by Prof Maarten Honing will discuss their own experience and their vision on future collaborations.

Abstract submission open

On 3 and 4 December the iMNC2020 will be hosted completely online. With keynote speakers, exhibitors and poster pitches in online meeting rooms. We have set up an online platform where you can present your poster in PDF and with a short video pitch.

This year, no abstracts will be selected for an oral presentation in the main tracks. You will be asked to present a poster pitch in a small group of presenters in the same main theme. In the main program poster sessions will be organized where you can give a 3-minute poster pitch and discuss questions with the attendees. It is possible to play a video or animation next to your abstract in PDF.

The deadline for abstract submission is October 30, 17:00 (GMT+1 Amsterdam)

Submit your abstract

Register now

With the program coming together in the coming weeks, the pre-events starting end of September you can now register and not miss any of these interesting events. All pre-meeting sessions will be recorded and shown during the iMNC2020.

Register 1 ticket for a single price and attend all meetings or a selection. You can join the matchmaking and send in your abstract for iMNC2020 on December 3 and 4. Meet with our exhibitors, and get updates from the field of micro- and nanotechnology.

Register now!

Read more about the conference at micronanoconference.org

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Publieke investeringen vergroten economische groei en toekomstige welvaart. Kabinet lanceert Nationaal Groeifonds

Ook volgende generaties moeten kunnen wonen in een Nederland met goede zorg, goed onderwijs, een leefbare omgeving én zij moeten genoeg geld overhouden om zelf te kunnen besteden. In het geval van een toekomstige economische dip, is het belangrijk om die klappen op te kunnen vangen zónder directe bezuinigingen. Daarvoor is economische groei nodig. Het kabinet trekt de komende vijf jaar in totaal 20 miljard euro uit voor investeringen die daaraan gaan bijdragen. Dit geld, ondergebracht in het Nationaal Groeifonds, gaat naar kennisontwikkeling, fysieke infrastructuur, en onderzoek, ontwikkeling & innovatie.

De ministerraad is akkoord met het voorstel hiervoor van ministers Wiebes (Economische Zaken en Klimaat) en Hoekstra (Financiën). Het Nationaal Groeifonds is bedoeld voor eenmalige publieke investeringen, niet voor terugkerende overheidsuitgaven. Het fonds krijgt een eigen begroting en een onafhankelijke commissie beoordeelt de voorstellen. De Tweede Kamer moet instemmen met de verdeling van geld over de drie investeringsterreinen kennisontwikkeling, fysieke infrastructuur, en onderzoek, ontwikkeling & innovatie.

Economie moet harder en anders groeien

De economische gevolgen van het coronavirus maken nog eens extra duidelijk dat welvaart en economische groei niet vanzelfsprekend zijn. Het onderstreept hoe belangrijk het is om in goede tijden buffers op te bouwen zodat er in slechte tijden kan worden geïnvesteerd in plaats van bezuinigd. Daar komen nog andere uitdagingen bij, zoals de vergrijzing, klimaatverandering en een lagere groei van de productiviteit. Om de welvaart de komende 20 tot 30 jaar te behouden en te vergroten, moet de economie harder en anders groeien. Dat is nodig om in de toekomst gezondheidszorg, onderwijs en pensioenen te kunnen betalen en daarnaast geld over te houden voor de huishoudportemonnee.

Werking groeifonds

Ondernemers, (mkb-)bedrijven, kennisinstellingen en andere partijen krijgen een belangrijke rol bij het aandragen van investeringsvoorstellen. Het ministerie dat over een specifiek onderwerp gaat, dient een voorstel vervolgens formeel in. Een investeringsvoorstel heeft een minimumomvang van 30 miljoen euro, er geldt geen maximumomvang per project.

Er zijn op korte termijn al kansen voor investeringen die helpen om in de toekomst de welvaart en het verdienvermogen te vergroten. Daarom wil het kabinet nog deze kabinetsperiode besluiten over enkele projecten die hieraan bijdragen. Omwille van de tijd is er voor deze eerste ronde geen brede uitvraag voor projecten gedaan, maar is gekozen voor het indienen van voorstellen waarvoor al goed uitgewerkte plannen liggen.

Voor een objectief en politiek onafhankelijk oordeel over de ingediende investeringsvoorstellen stelt het kabinet een onafhankelijke commissie in. Geld wordt pas beschikbaar gesteld na een positief advies van deze commissie en een besluit van het kabinet. Bij de jaarlijkse ‘Staat van de Economie’ maken de ministers van Economische Zaken en Klimaat en Financiën de investeringsplannen voortaan bekend.

Bekijk de persconferentie van maandag 7 september hier via Youtube 
Lees meer over het Groeifonds en de mogelijkheden voor indiening.

Source: Rijksoverheid nieuws
Image credit: Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

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NODE by Slush – inschrijving voor start-ups

Bent u een innovatieve start-up en klaar om op te schalen? Wilt u zakendoen, samenwerken of in contact komen met andere innovatieve bedrijven en investeerders? Neem dan namens Nederland deel aan Node by Slush. Zet uw bedrijf digitaal in de schijnwerpers op één van de grootste start-up- en tech-evenementen ter wereld.

Deze digitale versie van Slush vindt plaats van september tot begin december 2020.

Node by Slush 2020
Node by Slush is de digitale versie van Slush, het grootschalige evenement voor start-ups dat jaarlijks plaatsvindt in Helsinki. U maakt onderdeel uit van het digitale Nederlandse paviljoen waarin u uw eigen online ‘demo booth’ heeft. Deze demo booth biedt u verhoogde zichtbaarheid op het platform van Slush en is alleen beschikbaar voor deelnemers van nationale paviljoenen. Daarnaast zorgt Slush voor bezoekers aan de demo booths, onder andere door de inzet van een nieuwsbrief.

Meer informatie over dit digitale event vindt u op onze website.

Aanmelden: Meld u aan voor deelname. Let op: elke deelnemer moet zich apart inschrijven. De uiterste aanmelddatum is 8 september.

Er is ruimte voor maximaal 10 deelnemende start-ups aan het Nederlandse digitale paviljoen. Na de inschrijftermijn wordt besloten welke start-ups kunnen deelnemen.

Motiveert u daarom duidelijk waarom u wilt deelnemen en waarom u Nederland wilt vertegenwoordigen.
Kosten: Deelname kost € 100 exclusief btw per Nederlandse organisatie (maximaal 2 deelnemers). Inbegrepen is deelname aan de digitale voorbereidingsbijeenkomst en toegang tot het online platform van Node by Slush. Dit platform geeft toegang tot de verschillende virtuele programmaonderdelen, zoals mentorsessies, keynotes en de matchmakingtool. Ook de demo booth is bij de kosten inbegrepen.
Meer informatie: Kijk voor meer informatie over Node by Slush op de website van Slush.

Heeft u nog vragen over de Nederlandse deelname? Neem dan contact op met:
Annedien Zander
T: 06 1553 7728
E: annedien.zander@rvo.nl
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