Walk-in buffet lunch to celebrate the opening of the 2023 Japan Brabant Innovation Days

Well over 130 CEOs and representatives from Japanese research organisations, universities, high-tech companies and clever startups arrived early to enjoy the walk-in buffet lunch. Did you spot the typical Dutch food?

Opening Video Presentation

On November 29th several breakthrough technologies from Dutch research institutions and scaleups showcased their innovations as they leave the lab and scale up for mass manufacture. Here's an overview of the topics presented.

 Last year we premiered the artificial kidney and several mobility innovations, this year the theme is sustainable electronics and photonics. As devices become more powerful, their components become smaller, more complex and difficult to manufacture quickly.  

Jeroen van den Brand from TNO Holst Centre

We were pleased that many important Japanese industry and research institutions have accepted our invitation and are here today. Let’s start with our first speaker, Jeroen van den Brand from TNO Holst Centre based in Eindhoven. He will start with an overview of where we are with sustainable electronics and the challenges still ahead

Laser-Assisted MicroLED Integration

Now we move to photonics, devices that work with light rather than electrons. I’m sure many in this audience will have heard of the Vicsel (VCSEL) the vertical cavity surface-emitting laser which is in every computer mouse, this clicker and any mobile phone with face recognition. It was invented in 1977 by Professor Kenichi Iga of the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Our next speaker will explain about the next generation of displays that is causing a buzz at the moment. Micoleds are seen as the next step forward, but how will we make them sustainable?  Gari Arutinov also from TNO, the floor is yours.

Solliance Solar Research - the story so far

Our next guest will join us on a video link from Eindhoven University of Technology where she works as Director of Solliance Solar Research. Using new materials like Perovskite, Europe hopes that it can significantly increase the efficiency of solar panels and integrate them more seamlessly into buildings and trucks. So let’s give our attention to Angele Reinders.

CITC - Next Gen Chip Packaging Experts

Our next speaker before the break works at a very important centre in the Netherlands devoted to power electronics and so-called chip packaging. Customers buy systems not individual chips. And connecting chips to the outside world required very smart thinking from people like Francesca Chiappini. Francesca explains what’s next and why your approach is of interest to the automotive industry and 5 G communications specialists in Japan.

Coffee Break

Time to network and follow up with all speakers and preview some of the startup demos

Part 2: Startup Presentations

Welcome back to the second half of Brabant Innovation Days 2023. Next. W e will hear from four startups and spinouts from the Eindhoven region. Infact they represent a much larger cluster of successful deep-tech ventures for which the Brainport region is internationally famous. Some companies start as ideas from students at Eindhoven University of Technology. They often end up moving to the nearby Automotive campus to turn an idea into a business. Elsewhere in Brabant, several hightech breakthroughs in carbon capture or foodtech are currently scaling up to become major international concerns. To acclerate their growth requires both private and public financingat the right time. But also regional government backed ecosystems like PhotonDelta stimulate development of photonic chips, quantum computing and next generation lasers. Or the Pivotpark in Oss where several scaleups are breaking new ground in drug discovery. Amazing things happen when disruptive startups tap into the wisdom of larger enterprise. And Money flows to where it is treated well.”

The TracXon vision for Mass Manufacturing of printed electronics.

Ashok Sridhar has been a regular participant in Brabant Innovation Days while working for TNO Holst Centre. Now he heads a brand new electronics manufacturing facilty in Eindhoven that is set to revolutionise flexible electronics by scaling up great ideas from the lab. TracXon Tech is addressing the escalating issue of e-waste from obsolete electronic and photonic devices. Just 12% of ewaste is recycled and most printed circuit boards are are not printed but etched. But TracXon is now scaling production of printed flexible electronics, enabling easier recovery of valuable materials at the end of product life. We generate over 40 million tons of toxic electronic waste every year, worldwide. That’s like throwing out 800 laptops every second And a staggering 7% of the world's gold is tied up in e-waste. Japan has been a trailblazer in establishing an electronic waste recycling programme, it still confronts substantial hurdles, with only 24-30% of total e-waste being recycled. At the same time, the remainder ends up in landfills.  Ashok, please show us what you are doing now.

FononTech: The Importance of Impulse Printing

Speaker number two is Fabien Bruning, from a prize-winning startup that made Dutch headlines with the quote that Fonontech can reduce the ecological impact of microelectronics manufacturing by a factor of 1000. Fabien explains how his team will make the impossible possible.

Stella Terra - the Solar Offroader redefining freedom

Time to share the latest iteration of the Solar Team Eindhoven car, back from trials in the Sahara desert. 

In a single hour, the amount of energy from the sun that strikes the Earth is more than the entire world consumes in a year. Our greatest energy source, the sun, can sustainably provide us with ultimate freedom. We believe the solution for a sustainable future lies within the vehicles themselves. 

Using solar panels on your vehicle you are independent of the charging infrastructure. It allows you to go beyond the paved road and experience ultimate freedom. By showing the unlimited possibilities using the power of the sun, we inspire both society and the current market to accelerate the transition to a sustainable future.

HaptonTech Liquid Crystal Based Haptic Technology

Now our last startup today intrigues me. I have a game controller that vibrates while playing a game, which I know is called haptic feedback. So perhaps Danqing Liu & Dirk J. Broer can explain how their R&D company is adapting new materials to change our lives, especially if you cannot see? Please share your story.

The Brabant Development Agency (BOM). Why we catalyze change

Finally, today we have invited Eelko Brinkhof of the Brabant Development Agency to give us a keynote presentation. The BOM has been a partner for several Brabant Innovation Days and they are key in building a sustainable future for our high-tech region of the Netherlands. You will see they are very active in building bridges with Japanese companies in both Brabant and here in Japan. He will also reveal how the BOM is acting as a successful catalyst for start up like the ones we’ve seen today. Eelko, the floor is yours.

Closing remarks

There are less than 500 days left before the World Expo opens its doors at Osaka World Expo 2025 on 13th April 2025. The six-month event expects to welcome over 28 million business and private visitors. The theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives” perfectly fits the Society 5.0 concept first launched by the Japanese Cabinet Office in 2016.

The Netherlands is already preparing its pavilion to showcase breakthrough innovation to the world. And we expect that organizations from the Brabant region will be closely involved. Maybe we can learn more about the preparations from Eric van Kooij the counselor for Innovation at the Netherlands Embassy here in Tokyo?

Networking Drinks & Demos

The day concluded with networking drinks and the chance to speak with colleagues from the Brabant Development Agency as well as all of today's keynote speakers. The advantage of the BID event is that everyone sticks around, so it is easier to follow up and discuss one-on-one. 

We were also able to arrange private meetings between Dutch knowledge institutions and Japanese companies.

Thank you to all who attended and we hope you will participate in our survey in December to make future events in 2024 & 2025 even better.