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.
