Minister Heleen Herbert (Economic Affairs and Climate) and State Secretary Willemijn Aerdts (Digital Economy and Sovereignty) have the strategy. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) drew up the strategy in collaboration with, amongst others, the Ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Justice and Security, Education, Culture and Science, and Infrastructure and Water Management. The Council of Ministers has approved the strategy. The government regards quantum technology as a field offering significant opportunities and posing serious risks, and intends to pursue it on a broad scale.
Minister Herbert in her letter to Parliament: “Precisely because quantum technology presents both significant opportunities and risks to our economic, knowledge and cyber security, the central government has an important role to play. With the government-wide Quantum Strategy, we aim to foster innovation and economic growth, whilst ensuring that public values, digital security and strategic autonomy are properly protected. In this way, we are developing quantum technology in a safe, responsible and future-proof manner.”
Holland High Tech brings together businesses, research organisations and the government to capitalise on these opportunities. Since 2018, Holland High Tech has been focusing on public-private partnerships in the field of quantum technology. In this way, we help consortia to explore innovations for relevant applications, making full use of the expertise within the Dutch high-tech sector.
"This strategy highlights the Netherlands’ strengths. It is not about a single organisation doing everything on its own, but rather a network of strong research institutions and Dutch companies – starting with start-ups and scale-ups – which together are developing the building blocks for quantum technology across the entire spectrum of the field. Holland High Tech has been committed to public-private partnerships in the field of quantum technology since 2018, and remains so. Even back then, we recognised the enormous potential of this technology for our high-tech sector. Developments are now progressing rapidly. With our strong quantum ecosystem, we are ensuring that the Netherlands is not only participating, but is helping to shape the global leaders in this field.”
Leo Warmerdam, Managing Director of Holland High Tech
RQS: from a strong knowledge base to market applications
Quantum technology makes it possible to compute, measure and communicate much faster, more accurately and more securely than with current systems. Its applications range from new medicines and improved batteries to highly precise navigation, and affect sectors such as energy, healthcare, logistics and defence.
The Netherlands has a strong international position, thanks to high-quality research at knowledge institutions and an innovative industry. Quantum is one of the priorities in the National Technology Strategy. Through the National Growth Fund project QDNL, nearly 615 million euros has already been made available in recent years to develop the sector.
The next step is to translate that knowledge into concrete products and market applications. To this end, the Government intends to explore additional public and private funding, continue to support research, and act itself as the first customer, client and partner. The latter will be achieved through the new National Agency for Disruptive Innovation (NADI).
Resilient to risks
As with other technological breakthroughs, there are also risks. The greatest threat lies in the area of information and cyber security: malicious actors could use quantum computers to break current encryption. This would enable them to gain access to sensitive data or attack critical infrastructure. In the strategy, the government sets out how the central government manages these risks itself, how (military) applications are developed and deployed responsibly, and how the Netherlands is working towards European and international agreements. Fundamental rights such as equal treatment and non-discrimination are central to this.
Quantum requires the strength of the entire high-tech supply chain
A quantum application is more than just a scientific breakthrough. It is a complex system in which refrigeration technology, precision engineering, electronics, photonics and software must work together seamlessly. It is precisely in these areas that Dutch high-tech companies excel on a global scale. The challenge now is to scale up prototypes into reliable products. This requires a mature supply chain. The government’s decision to act as the lead customer and to focus on strategic autonomy offers the industry the prospect of taking that step.
