Blog | The Netherlands in the European Chip Ecosystem: Collaboration as a Strategic Strength
The semiconductor industry forms the foundation of virtually all modern technologies. From mobility and energy to healthcare and digitalisation, innovation comes to a standstill without chips. In today’s geopolitical landscape — where global value chains are under pressure and strategic dependencies are becoming increasingly visible — strengthening both the European and Dutch position in semiconductors is not merely an economic challenge, but a strategic necessity.
The Netherlands holds a unique position in this context. With world-leading players in semiconductor equipment, materials expertise, and chip design, the country represents a crucial link within the European chip ecosystem. At the same time, it is clear that no single country or company can fully oversee or control this highly complex value chain independently.
The semiconductor supply chain is deeply interconnected: from design and materials to manufacturing, packaging, testing, and system integration. Sustainable progress therefore requires intensive collaboration between companies, knowledge institutions, and governments — within the Netherlands as well as at the European level — built on shared objectives and a long-term vision. This is precisely what NXTGEN Hightech aims to establish and anchor structurally.
In this context, ecosystem development means deliberately strengthening networks in which innovation, application, and production structurally reinforce one another. By pooling knowledge and jointly developing facilities, an environment is created in which new technologies can be tested, validated, and scaled up more rapidly. This reduces the gap between research and industrial deployment and increases the impact of both public and private innovation investments.
For the Netherlands, ecosystem development is also key to strategic resilience. By sustainably anchoring critical knowledge, talent, and production capacities within Europe, we reduce dependency on external markets and strengthen control over essential technologies. This is particularly important in a world where geopolitical tensions, raw material flows, and supply chains are becoming increasingly unpredictable.
Moreover, a strong ecosystem contributes to economic growth and productivity. Technological breakthroughs do not emerge in isolation, but within networks where entrepreneurship, research, and talent converge. Targeted investments in collaboration, talent development, and shared infrastructure lay a fertile foundation for new business activity and high-quality employment in both the Netherlands and Europe.
The future of the Dutch semiconductor sector does not lie in competition between regions or individual players, but in strengthening collective European capabilities. Initiatives that place ecosystem development at their core demonstrate how the Netherlands is putting this into practice. The NXTGEN Hightech semiconductor domain is a key example: a programme in which collaboration between industry, knowledge institutions, and government has been embedded at the heart of the approach from the outset. By building an open, connected, and resilient chip ecosystem, innovation is accelerated while simultaneously reinforcing the European value chain and supporting societal transitions in energy, digitalisation, and healthcare.