Research question
Elmer Rietveld, Senior Expert in the Circular Economy and Critical Raw Materials, TNO:
A circular manufacturing industry will be enforced by the EU, whether you like it or not.
Based on various preliminary studies and business consultations, such as the Knowledge and Innovation Agenda for the Circular Economy (KIA CE), the Circular Economy Smart Industry Study, the Remanufacturing Roadmap and the Semicon Circular Business Programme we know there is a significant gap between, on the one hand, policymakers who are rapidly rolling out mandatory circularity legislation in the high-tech manufacturing sector and, on the other hand, entrepreneurs who are primarily asking themselves: how do I make money from circularity?
Objective
This strategic programme aims to bridge the gap between policymakers and entrepreneurs through research carried out by Dutch knowledge institutions (universities, universities of applied sciences and applied research organisations such as TNO and NLR) in public-private partnerships with businesses.
Approach
Under this strategic programme, €2.5 million per year is available for multiple PPP projects each year, over a period of several years. This funding is intended to support knowledge institutions, provided that companies are willing to enter into a public-private partnership with them and that the knowledge institution receives a cash payment for this. A consortium comprising only SMEs is exempt from the cash requirement and may also contribute in the form of hours only. Under this scheme, therefore, the companies do not receive a grant, but they do benefit from significant government leverage on the costs of engaging knowledge institutions.
The extent of this government funding depends on the research’s TRL level. There are three categories: Fundamental Research (FR), Industrial Research (IR) and Experimental Development (ED). In the FR category, companies pay 20% of the project cost to the research institution, and the scheme pays the remaining 80% to the research institution.
In the IO category, companies pay 50% of the project cost to the research institution, with the scheme covering the remaining 50%. Under IO, companies are not required to make their 50% contribution entirely in cash. They must pay at least 25% of the total project volume to the knowledge institution in cash, but the other 25% may also be claimed as in-kind hours that they themselves contribute to the collaboration. These hours are generally valued at €60 per hour, unless companies have agreed an integral cost price rate with RVO.
The relationship between urgent transitions, KIAs and technologies
This programme relates primarily to the KIA CE and, within the National Technology Strategy, it relates in particular to the key technologies ‘Advanced materials’ – specifically the key technology ‘Energy materials’ within that cluster – and to ‘Digital technologies’, which includes, for example, the key technology ‘Data science, data analytics and data spaces’.
However, there are many more key technologies relevant to the themes of this Strategic Programme, and conversely, the circular transition can act as a driving force for a wide range of key technology development. Similarly, (3) Engineering and fabrication technologies, including, for example, the key technologies Digital manufacturing technologies and Systems Engineering, are clearly relevant.
