- Ministers sign UK-Netherlands Innovation Partnership in London – deepening ties on AI, quantum and semiconductors
- With leading science and tech companies and top-tier research talent, both countries are natural partners in science and technology
- Partnership builds on research UK and Netherlands already pursue together through Horizon Europe, CERN, and more
Efforts to develop the next generation of super-powerful computers, to put quantum products to work in settings from clean energy to medical research, and to support for the UK’s semiconductor innovators, are all in line for a boost through a new UK-Netherlands new partnership on science and tech. The deal has been agreed by Ministers from both countries yesterday (Tuesday 11 November).
The UK’s Minister for AI and Online Safety, Kanishka Narayan, and the Netherlands’ Cabinet Minister for Economic Affairs, Vincent Karremans, signed the UK-Netherlands Innovation Partnership at a meeting in London earlier. The agreement sets out how the 2 countries will forge closer ties in their work to seize the vast potential for AI, quantum, and semiconductors to be forces for economic growth and to help tackle major challenges facing both countries, from climate change to healthcare.
These are 3 areas which the UK and the Netherlands are well-placed to collaborate on:
- the UK’s semiconductor clusters in South Wales, Scotland and elsewhere harbour deep expertise in specialised fields like chip design and compound semiconductors, while the Netherlands is home to companies like ASML which are critical to the entire world’s semiconductors supply chain
- both countries already work together closely on quantum, with a joint R&D scheme worth £1.2 million currently being delivered
- as well as having considerable AI strengths, both the UK and the Netherlands are exploring new forms of computing, inspired by the workings of the human brain, to make future AI systems more powerful and sustainable
UK Minister for AI and Online Safety Kanishka Narayan said:
Breakthrough technologies like AI and quantum are at the heart of our ambitions for economic growth, better public services, and national renewal.
These fields are already delivering breakthroughs: from life-saving medicines to next-gen batteries for clean energy, these breakthroughs are already changing lives.
By partnering with the Netherlands, we can accelerate innovation and deliver more impact, faster.
The Innovation Partnership agreed today builds on strong science and tech ties that already exist between the UK and the Netherlands. Both countries’ researchers work together through Horizon Europe, the world’s largest programme of research collaboration, which has seen British solar energy firm Oxford PV work together with the Dutch Marine Energy Centre, on a £6 million project testing a floating solar farm on the North Sea.
The UK and the Netherlands are also part of shared international endeavours like the PIXEurope consortium – a close to €400 million European initiative aimed at advancing photonic chip technologies. Among its 20 participating research organisations are the University of Cambridge and the University of Southampton from the UK and Dutch institutes TU Delft, the University of Twente, and TNO.
While both countries are also part of shared international endeavours like the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, the European Space Agency, and particle physics laboratory CERN – where breakthroughs in particle accelerator technology have led to advanced cancer therapies.
