Growth acceleration for Innoveins

Innoveins is growing at a rapid pace. Innoveins is the ecosystem at the intersection of plant and technology where organizations work together to develop and market innovations. These organizations innovate and co-create in cluster settings. They combine knowledge and expertise and focus on one or more specific innovation issues. Recently, several clusters have been added, which has led to additional investments in their own organization. There are currently six innovation clusters operational in the field of robotics, big data, exposed cultivation, smart farming, seed technology, energy-efficient cultivation systems and urban farming. With this growth acceleration, Innoveins can work towards its own Fieldlab.

Innoveins is located at Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo where future farming (agritech) is one of the main themes. A number of new clusters have been established in the past year. Two innovation clusters from the blueberry and strawberry sectors were established in December 2018. Here the focus is on robotics, smart farming and exposed cultivation. Another cluster was established in the fall with a focus on seed technology research. In addition, the clusters focused on Internet of Things, Urban Farming and AgroRobotics have recruited two additional business developers to flesh out the ambition.

Cooperation with innovators and education

In addition to setting up extra clusters, Innoveins has sought to collaborate with the lectureship of the Arnhem and Nijmegen University of Applied Sciences. This professorship conducts practice-based research with students on a scientific basis to strengthen ecosystems, such as Innoveins. This collaboration also makes innovation projects accessible to economics, technology and agribusiness students. The goal is to strengthen the connection between the labor market and education and the ecosystem.

The future: an own Fieldlab in 2019

These developments are a starting point for the ambition Innoveins has, namely a Smart Industry Fieldlab. Fieldlabs are practical environments in which companies and knowledge institutions develop, test and implement Smart Industry solutions and create an environment in which people learn to apply these solutions. Innoveins then has the first Fieldlab in the Netherlands that focuses on future farming and making the cross-over between high-tech and agrofood.