News item | 29-06-2022 | 13:45
Digitization stimulates innovation, productivity and economic growth in the SME industry, but also in food production and care. That is why the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK) and the European Commission, together with public-private partnerships of provinces, regional development companies and entrepreneurs (organisations) will invest 30 million euros in five Dutch European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH). They work together regionally on the application of innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, 3D printing, autonomous systems, Internet-of-Things devices and cybersecurity in processes and products.
Minister Micky Adriaansens (EZK): “Making our economy more sustainable and digitizing creates jobs and income. The Netherlands is already leading the way with digital infrastructure, but also with the use of, for example, dates by entrepreneurs in their processes and products. But we can and must still take steps. Think of the use of artificial intelligence by SMEs. That is why the cabinet is now providing extra support at a regional level to both the manufacturing industry and the digitization of SMEs in order to be able to grow further nationally.”
Scaling Agenda Smart Industry 2022-2026
The funding coincides with the new Dutch agenda for digitizing the manufacturing industry: Scaling Agenda Smart Industry 2022-2026† Minister Adriaansens made the ambitions together with industry organizations FME and Koninklijke Metaalunie, the regional development companies, the Chamber of Commerce and knowledge institute TNO today at the Smart Industry annual event known in Nieuwegein.
The new agenda has the ambition to help 1,000 manufacturing companies to digitize their factories over the next four years. The ambition is also to train 50,000 employees in the field of digital skills through the so-called Smart Makers Academy† Until 2026, a total of approximately 3,500 companies and 200,000 people will receive support in applying digital technologies. The fifty local practice environments (field labs) will also continue to help SMEs and researchers to develop digital solutions and to train people for this. The existing regional hubs will be continued in the five Dutch European Digital Innovation Hubs†
European and Dutch funding for innovations through Digital Europe
The support for the EDIHs is part of the new EU program Digital Europe for which €7.5 billion is available in the period 2021-2027. In addition to this co-funding for the application of digital technologies in industry and SMEs, the Ministry of EZK is also making funding available for the Dutch participation in the project aimed at setting up a large-scale and user-friendly EU-wide online market for so-called cloud-to-edgeservices. Cloud-to-edge is a digital technology focused on data processing and more fluid data flows. Such a market provides accessible and reliable solutions to improve the processing of local data (edge) before this data is stored centrally (cloud).
In the coming years, the Ministry of EZK will make more co-financing within the framework of Digital Europe available to build and facilitate the broad adoption of digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity. See this link†