Sustainable entrepreneurs must have an official end-of-waste status to sell circular products. This demonstrates that their recycling process converts waste into safe products for people and nature. The intention of these rules is excellent, but partly because legislation is not up-to-date, it often results in unfavorable outcomes for green entrepreneurs. The End-of-Waste project by Invest-NL and the Green Chemistry, New Economy platform assist entrepreneurs in navigating complex regulations. This paves the way for a circular economy.
Innatera, the Dutch pioneer in ultra-low power neuromorphic processors, has successfully completed a €15 million Series-A funding round, co-financed by the EIC Fund as well as existing investors MIG Capital, Matterwave Ventures, and Delft Enterprises. The Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund is investing €4.8 million in this Series A round. This capital injection enables the company to accelerate scaling to mass production, expand its application offerings, and invest in its network of relationships.
The Netherlands has the potential to become a world leader in the development of Lab-on-Chip (LoC) technologies, according to the latest report from Invest-NL’s Deep Tech Fund. These technologies enable the miniaturisation and automation of complex laboratory processes, which could lead to breakthroughs in areas such as personalised healthcare and real-time environmental analyses. However, the report highlights a critical funding gap and regulatory obstacles hindering the scale-up of this technology. Invest-NL advocates for a dedicated MedTech fund and European standardisation to pave the way for economic and social impact.
Invest-NL is committed to a CO2-neutral and circular economy, with the energy transition and biodiversity as key pillars. Making business parks more sustainable is an important step in this process. In addition to reducing CO2 emissions, the greening of business parks also presents opportunities to enhance local biodiversity. In collaboration with PVB Nederland, Rebel, and the South Holland Nature and Environment Federation, Invest-NL has developed a brochure to help business park operators combine smart solutions. By approaching sustainability across different areas (energy, biodiversity, and climate adaptation) as a single integrated business case, broad sustainability becomes financially viable and can even be accelerated.
Increasing circularity requires improved recycling rates. Recycling reduces demand for new fossil resources and the amount of waste incinerated and dumped on landfill sites. However, waste can be contaminated and pose safety risks to both humans and the environment. Recycling companies therefore have to demonstrate that their recycling process converts waste into safe products.
Invest-NL, through its portfolio investment fund Infinity Recycling, is set to invest in Pryme, an innovative clean tech company based in Rotterdam. Together with a group of other investors, a total of €13 million is being invested in the commercialisation of Pryme's pyrolysis process. This process is capable of converting used plastics into valuable products on an industrial scale.
Start-up Rival Foods is working hard on the next generation of meat substitutes. No alternatives to processed and unhealthy meat products such as burgers and chicken nuggets, but alternatives to whole cuts such as salmon fillets and roulades. 'We want to offer the meat eating experience without the disadvantages of meat,' he says.<br />
The protein transition is essential for building a sustainable and carbon-neutral food system. Fermentation technology plays a pivotal role by delivering innovative protein solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption. However, investments remain limited due to high development costs, complex scaling processes, and strict regulatory frameworks. To overcome these barriers, Invest-NL and Wageningen University & Research have developed an assessment framework to help investors make well-informed decisions and drive growth in this sector.
Water is essential for the agrifood sector, but due to climate change, regulations, and societal expectations, water use is under increasing pressure. Invest-NL has conducted an exploration into challenges and solutions for water management in the agrifood sector. The whitepaper, developed in collaboration with Royal HaskoningDHV, provides insights into the key challenges and opportunities related to water use in the sector.
As of 1 October, Invest-NL has stopped accepting new applications for the Temporary Bridging Loan Programme for Innovative Start-ups and Scale-ups (TOPSS). Through the TOPSS programme, Invest-NL is providing innovative companies with funding so that they can continue to invest during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Invest-NL has allocated €100 million of its own capital for this purpose.
Two weeks after the opening of the Corona-OververbruggingsLening (COL) and the Tijdelijk Overbruggingskrediet Programma Innovative Start- en Scaleups (TOPSS) almost 1,300 startups, scale-ups and innovative SMEs have applied. The companies have applied for a total of €630 million via one of the two facilities.
Today, Invest-NL announced it is investing € 10 million in Nearfield Instruments through the Deep Tech Fund, as part of a € 135 million Series C financing round. As an early investor, Invest-NL has played a significant role in the rapid growth of TNO spin-off Nearfield Instruments, a metrology and inspection scale-up in the semiconductor industry. This new investment round will enable Nearfield Instruments to further scale up. In addition to lead investors Walden Catalyst and Temasek, M&G, Innovation Industries, the Strategic Partners Fund and ING are also investing in this round.
The Netherlands is full of grass, but apart from feeding cows we do little else with it. Start-up Grassa is going to change all that. By refining grass, the Netherlands will need to import less soya from cut-down virgin rainforests, nitrogen and CO2 emissions from farms are reduced, manure surpluses are eliminated and cows get easier-to-digest fodder. With the new pilot plant, the dairy industry saves 9.5 megatons of CO2.
The Dutch energy transition faces a significant challenge: millions of tons of materials are required to enable the infrastructure for sustainable energy. This comes with high costs, negative environmental impact, and growing uncertainty about material availability. The solution lies in a transition to circular material use. The new report, Towards a Circular Energy Infrastructure, offers seven concrete recommendations for making the shift to a circular energy infrastructure. The results show that you can work faster and more cost-effectively when you apply circular strategies in the core activities of grid management.
