Building a Leading Ecosystem for Smart Production
Global supply chain disruptions, raw material scarcity and a growing shortage of skilled labour are putting industrial value creation under sustained pressure. At the same time, the transition towards circular and resource-efficient production requires new technological solutions. Digitalisation, automation, artificial intelligence, digital twins and robotics are central enablers: they raise productivity, improve working conditions and make production more flexible and resilient. They strengthen Europe's competitiveness and strategic autonomy, and they create the conditions for bringing production back to Europe. As manufacturing becomes increasingly connected, cybersecurity and data governance are gaining strategic importance.
The decisive challenge is to make these technologies accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises. Numerous European, national and regional programmes already exist, including the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH). TECH.LAND connects these offers across the border and makes them available to SMEs and industry.
Our vision and objectives
Our vision is to establish the TECH.LAND region as one of Europe's most advanced manufacturing areas, where excellent research, development and production work hand in hand. To achieve this, we are developing our cluster into a highly visible Dutch-German ecosystem and a leading platform for cooperation in robotics and smart manufacturing.
Strategic priorities, grounded in concrete projects
- Artificial intelligence as a dedicated cooperation line. More than 80% of the applications submitted under our Interreg project INDUSTR_I4.0 include an AI component. The project connects robotics and smart manufacturing with AI, digital twins, data-driven production and cyber-secure systems, and actively supports SMEs running concrete I4.0 projects across the border.
- Use-case-driven robotics cooperation. Our project FutureRobotiX provides the basis for this: it analyses network dynamics, gaps and opportunities for targeted collaboration, and translates them into concrete use cases for companies and knowledge institutions.
- Cybersecurity as an enabling condition. As production becomes more connected through projects like INDUSTR_I4.0, protecting these systems becomes a strategic priority in its own right.
- Technology access for SMEs. Test-before-invest pathways and practical demonstrators, built on the infrastructure below, reduce investment risk and accelerate adoption.
What this means for your business
Companies and knowledge institutions in our region benefit directly from the cluster:
- Test infrastructure: access to field labs, demonstrators and research facilities on both sides of the border, before committing to investment
- Partners: cross-border matchmaking with companies, universities and research institutions through our network
- Pilot projects: support in developing and running pilot and demonstrator projects, from first idea to scalable application
- Know-how and project access: direct access to the expertise, funding opportunities and project pipeline built through INDUSTR_I4.0, Manufacturing NextMaterials, InnoLoop and FutureRobotiX
