A New Chapter for Our Region: €1.5M EFRE project for a digital platform

Small and medium-sized enterprises in the Dutch–German border region will soon find it significantly easier to identify the right partners in business and science — thanks to a new AI-powered digital platform being developed by the TECH.LAND consortium.
On 20 May 2025, the consortium officially signed the 'Interactive Knowledge and Technology Spaces' project, a milestone for cross-border collaboration between the Münsterland and Emscher-Lippe region in North Rhine-Westphalia and eastern Netherlands (Overijssel and Gelderland).

The challenge: fragmented data across borders

The Dutch–German border region represents a combined economy of more than €230 billion, with around 480,000 companies and over twenty universities and research institutions. Yet economic and scientific data on both sides of the border remains highly fragmented — difficult to access, hard to compare, and spread across different systems and organisations.
For SMEs in particular, this creates a persistent barrier. Whether searching for research partners, supply chain collaborators or innovation networks, companies often simply do not know where to look, especially across national borders where language, systems and structures differ.

What the platform will deliver

The TECH.LAND platform will bring together regional data and provide clear, actionable insights into which companies, knowledge institutions and networks are active in the region, where opportunities for cross-border collaboration exist, how markets are developing on both sides of the border, which innovations and supply chains show the most potential, and what SMEs need to succeed in cross-border business.
The platform will offer both a public information area with structured, multilingual economic and sector-specific data, and a closed area with personalised partner recommendations, powered by AI-driven matchmaking tailored to each organisation's specific needs. It will serve as a digital one-stop-shop for cross-border innovation and collaboration, giving businesses faster access to relevant knowledge, networks and technology partners in both the Netherlands and Germany.

Innovation clusters in focus

The platform concentrates on four technology clusters where the region holds particular strengths:
Battery & Hydrogen | Circular Economy | Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics | Health & Medical Technology

Supporting partners and institutions

Beyond direct SME matchmaking, the platform will also help organisations like Oost NL, Twente Board, knowledge institutions and public authorities to support entrepreneurs more effectively. With better insight into regional strengths, needs and market opportunities, programmes, investments and partnerships can be structured more efficiently.

The consortium and project volume

The project is led by IHK Nord Westfalen and carried out by five partners from both countries: IHK Nord Westfalen, TAFH Münster, Centre for Netherlands Studies, University of Münster, Twente Board, Oost NL

It is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (EFRE), the Just Transition Fund (JTF) and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (total public funding: €1.18 million), with additional contributions from the project partners themselves, bringing the total project volume to €1.5 million.