The maritime sector is developing rapidly in Southeast Asia. Singapore is one of the global hubs within the maritime sector and offers good access to other Southeast Asian countries. The focus is on sustainability, greening and digitisation and there is an increasing demand for innovative solutions and cooperation.

Dutch knowledge and expertise in shipbuilding and offshore engineering are well suited to this growing demand. That is why a Dutch trade mission will visit Singapore from 22 to 26 March 2026 and the Asia Pacific Maritime exhibition to exchange knowledge and explore further cooperation in Singapore and other countries in Southeast Asia.

We are looking forward to meeting you in Singapore!
 

Advancing shipbuilding and offshore engineering together

As global demand for smarter, faster, and more sustainable technologies grows, deep tech is becoming a key driver of innovation. Fields such as semiconductors, photonics, and quantum technologies are essential to advances in artificial intelligence, secure communication, and advanced manufacturing.

Japan and the Netherlands share more than 425 years of collaboration in trade, knowledge exchange, and innovation. Building on this foundation of trust, both countries are strengthening their partnership to accelerate deep tech development and address global challenges together.

The collaboration is built on complementary strengths. Japan’s technological depth, industrial scale, and long-term investment strategies combine naturally with the Netherlands’ expertise in advanced machinery, materials, and its culture of open innovation. A Memorandum of Cooperation signed in 2023 further reinforces this partnership, supporting joint public-private initiatives in semiconductor and related technologies.

The Netherlands offers a highly connected deep tech ecosystem where universities, research institutes, companies, and government collaborate closely in a quadruple helix model. This structure enables strong cooperation across semiconductors, photonics, and quantum technologies.

By combining expertise in research, industry, and innovation, Japan and the Netherlands are strengthening their ecosystems and accelerating the development of technologies that will shape the future and contribute to solutions for global challenges.

Let’s work together to advance innovation in deep tech. 

Spain and Portugal are advancing rapidly towards their renewable energy ambitions, with plans to deploy 4–5 GW of offshore wind by 2030. Much of this capacity will rely on floating technologies suited to the deep waters of the Atlantic coastline. As both nations build the foundations of a new offshore wind industry, the Netherlands offers a long-term partnership rooted in practical experience and shared ambition.

Over the past 25 years, the Netherlands has developed a mature and fully integrated offshore wind sector in the demanding conditions of the North Sea. Dutch companies, research institutions, and public authorities work across the full value chain: From floating components, engineering, and installation through to port infrastructure, ecology, digital systems, and circular design. This includes substantial policy experience in regulation, marine spatial planning, and nature-inclusive development. 

Unlocking one of Europe’s most promising energy frontiers 

Spain and Portugal have the opportunity to unlock one of Europe’s most promising energy frontiers. The Iberian Peninsula offers exceptional wind resources, strong industrial capabilities, and a strategic position to become a leader in floating offshore wind. Both nations are at a pivotal moment in the energy transition and the potential extends well beyond clean electricity. Scaling up offshore wind will strengthen energy independence, create high-skilled jobs, boost industrial competitiveness, and accelerate port modernisation.

The Partner For International Business (PIB) Offshore Wind in Spain and Portugal connects Dutch capabilities with this momentum. The programme supports collaboration across the full project lifecycle: From early site studies and port development to floating components, digitalisation, workforce training, and nature-inclusive design. It aims to create long-term opportunities for Spanish and Portuguese companies to access operational experience, while enabling Dutch companies to contribute to a competitive offshore wind market across the Iberian Peninsula.

Research, training, and technology

Research, innovation, and capacity-building underpin this partnership. Knowledge-to-knowledge (K2K) cooperation between research institutes, innovation networks, and training providers supports joint studies, exchange missions, and expert dialogues. These efforts advance environmental modelling, digital solutions, skills training, and engineering capabilities across all three countries.

Workforce development is a shared priority. As Spain and Portugal scale their offshore wind sectors, local technicians and engineers will be needed at every stage. Dutch experience in offshore project execution, safety standards, and technical training can help build strong national talent pipelines.

In parallel, government-to-government (G2G) cooperation supports clear and predictable frameworks, including tender criteria, marine spatial planning, sustainability requirements, and nature-inclusive design, areas where Dutch models offer tested approaches.

Why partner with the Netherlands?

Today, 4.5 GW of offshore wind capacity is installed or under construction in the Dutch North Sea. The national roadmap targets 21 GW by around 2033, roughly 75% of current electricity demand, and between 38 and 72 GW by 2050 to reach net zero. We are navigating similar challenges that Spain and Portugal face, from harsh sea environments to permitting and grid integration to supply chain development and ecological impact.

Plus, Dutch companies have substantial experience in vessel construction, components engineering and installation, turbine installation, safety training, and handling systems. We are keen to share this experience, and to learn from the experiences and innovations that Iberian partners bring to floating offshore wind in deeper, more exposed waters.

Let's develop the future of floating offshore wind together

Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands have the opportunity to drive the floating energy transition forward. The foundations for this partnership are in place. Together, we can develop offshore wind responsibly, efficiently, and for the long term. 

Welcome to the Dutch Mission Booklet for the InCyber Forum 2026 in Lille. This forum brings together key players from across Europe to connect, exchange insights, and shape the future of cybersecurity together.

The Dutch delegation is here with a clear purpose: to engage with partners, share expertise, and explore concrete opportunities for collaboration. Representing a strong ecosystem of companies, researchers, and innovators, the Netherlands offers cutting-edge solutions and a forward-looking approach to digital security.

We are particularly keen to deepen cooperation with international partners, including our French counterparts, in areas such as secure digital technologies, resilient infrastructure, and emerging fields like AI and data. By working together, we can accelerate innovation and address the complex cybersecurity challenges we all face.

We invite you to connect with us, exchange ideas, and build partnerships that contribute to a safer and more resilient digital future.

Building a more cyber-secure world

A reliable energy supply is essential for our homes, workplaces, healthcare services and industry. Yet climate change is accelerating, making the need for decisive action increasingly urgent. Shifting weather patterns, rising sea levels and growing resource scarcity require solutions that no country can deliver alone. At the same time, energy demand continues to rise and gas reserves are diminishing, requiring a rapid shift to alternative sources for transport, heating and industrial use.

Ukraine faces the triple challenge of repairing and rebuilding its energy system while accelerating its integration with the European energy market. Its strong dedication to renewable energy, particularly wind, solar and decentralised energy hubs, combined with deep technical and IT expertise, provides a solid foundation for modernisation. The Netherlands is well positioned to support this momentum and to contribute to Ukraine’s long-term clean-energy transition.

Opportunities for Ukraine

Sustainable energy security and long-term development can only be achieved through close collaboration. Ukraine’s renewable-energy potential is among the highest in Europe, creating significant opportunities for Dutch–Ukrainian partnerships in onshore wind, solar PV, battery storage, decentralised grids and, over time, the exploration of offshore wind in the Black Sea. Dutch companies bring extensive experience in system integration, digitalised grid solutions, refurbished wind technologies and modular engineering, expertise that can be adapted quickly and effectively to Ukraine’s evolving needs.

As Ukraine aligns its energy sector with EU standards, public authorities, utilities, agricultural and industrial firms, IT clusters and critical infrastructure operators are increasingly seeking reliable, low-carbon and resilient power solutions. By combining Dutch capabilities with Ukraine’s rapidly developing renewable-energy sector, this partnership supports energy independence, strengthens local skills and employment, and contributes to a modern, competitive and future-focused European energy landscape.

Shaping Ukraine’s renewed energy system together

Walk through a beautiful park, and your senses catch only a fraction of what is truly happening around you. If you were a bee or butterfly, you’d see ultraviolet patterns on petals, hidden signals, entire worlds we humans rarely perceive. Designer and founder of the bio-tech studio Nova Innova, Ermi van Oers, has made it her mission to bring those stories to light. Stories we cannot see at first glance, yet bring us closer to the intelligence of nature. By blending science with design, she creates work that allows nature to speak about its state of mind. Her studio shows what happens when an ecosystem meets technology in ways that are both poetic and respectful of the natural world.

For years, Ermi van Oers has built a living lab where biological processes become sources of light, energy, and expression. Her breakthrough project, a lamp powered by a plant’s photosynthesis, proved that nature could power our world without harm or external energy sources. No external power source like batteries or cables, just the natural release of electrons captured through Microbial Fuel Cell Technology. This collaboration with the biotechnology company Plant-e later led to the world’s first public park lit entirely by the energy of plants: a magical space in Rotterdam-Zuid where, after sunset, the ground glows like a field of fireflies.

Now, through Nova Innova, Ermi van Oers is exploring a new frontier: extracting clean energy from water. Because water is a living organism too. It contains bacteria that break down organic matter, releasing electrons in the process. By embracing the constraints of natural systems, rather than forcing them, Nova Innova turns this microbial activity into electricity that can power sensors, lights, and artworks, all without disturbing the ecosystem itself.

When water tells us how it’s doing

The latest innovation, called POND (Power of Nature-Based Design), once again makes the invisible visible. Developed over four years with the University of Southampton, POND is the world’s first floating network powered entirely by the microbes within the water it monitors. Floating domes drift gently on the surface, glowing in colours that reflect the water’s well-being. It functions autonomously, translating real-time water quality into a visual language that people can understand at a glance. Blue, green, pink; each hue a message. Through POND’s digital twin app, users can learn what each colour means. A green glow, for example, translates as: ‘My health is in balance. Fish and plants feel at home here’. It can even predict the likelihood of blue-green algae. For the first time in the world, water can ‘speak’ to us! Allowing us to know what it needs and how to care for it.
 

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The POND floating installation near Deltares.

Already tested at Blijdorp Rotterdam Zoo, POND is now part of a growing consortium including Waternet, Waterschap Amstel, Gooi en Vecht, the municipalities of Utrecht and Voorne aan Zee, Fieldlab Green Economy Westvoorne and others. An installation is also operating at a fourth location on the Deltares campus, further strengthening the project’s scientific foundation.

Globally, polluted water threatens both ecosystems and public health. Nova Innova approaches this challenge from a different perspective: what if nature could communicate its own needs, and we simply learned how to listen? Projects like POND show how this might work in practice, translating the health of water into signals people can understand and respond to.

Weaving design, technology, and science with the intelligence of nature

The studio’s work stands out because it is not speculative; it is scalable. By combining science, engineering, ecosystems, and design, Nova Innova creates solutions that can already be applied today. As founder Ermi van Oers puts it: we must treat water not as disposable, but as a living organism. Her hope is that future generations will see it as entirely normal that light can come from plants, electricity from bacteria, and that we build with nature rather than against it. By merging science, technology, and design, Nova Innova opens up a future where we form closer connections with the ecosystems around us. A future where humans and nature work in balance. Not just tomorrow, but for the generations that follow. And that’s what makes it truly New Dutch.

POND becomes active about half an hour after sunset, once darkness sets in. The duration of its light symphony depends on how much energy the microbes collected during the day.
 

Dutch designer Pauline van Dongen is rethinking what solar energy can look like. Not as rigid panels fixed to rooftops, but as flexible fabrics woven directly into the spaces where we walk, live or work. In her design studio in Arnhem, she develops smart textiles that capture sunlight and transform it into a source of power. Her latest innovation, Heliotex, shows what happens when renewable energy meets material design; a lightweight textile that can shade streets, cover facades, or stretch across public spaces, while quietly generating electricity from the sun.

Fascinated by how textiles shape the way we move through the world, van Dongen began her career in fashion. Her curiosity expanded into technology, with thoughts on how fabrics could not only clothe us, but actively interact with our environment. Her studio focuses on what she calls material aesthetics; exploring how technology can enhance the sensory, emotional, and physical relationship between people, clothing, and the world around them. This thinking eventually led to solar textiles. When sunlight becomes part of the material itself, the role of the sun changes. It is no longer just light or warmth, it becomes clean energy.

Heliotex embodies this idea. Developed together with engineering partner Tentech, the textile integrates organic photovoltaic modules directly into the weave. Unlike traditional solar panels, which are mounted onto buildings, Heliotex becomes a flexible ‘second skin’ for architecture. The result is a material that is foldable, lightweight, and adaptable. It can be produced in different colours, shapes, and patterns, making it attractive to architects designing facades, awnings, or large-scale pavilions.

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Organic photovoltaic modules directly integrated into the weave of the Heliotex textile.

Heliotex does more than generate power. It also addresses another growing challenge in cities: heat. By functioning as a shading textile, the fabric helps cool urban environments while simultaneously harvesting solar energy. To demonstrate this potential, the installation The Umbra Pavilion was launched during Dutch Design Week. Located in Eindhoven’s Strijp-S district, this public-space structure spans around forty square metres. Heliotex is front and centre, shaped into an umbrella-like textile canopy that provides cooling shade while generating and storing roughly three kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough to power lighting in the evening. In this way, Heliotex connects two urgent transitions at the same time: climate adaptation and renewable energy. Design plays a crucial role in making that connection visible and tangible.

A Dutch ecosystem for solar innovation 

The energy transition doesn’t need to be hidden on rooftops or technical infrastructure. It should be visible, accessible, and part of everyday life. This philosophy also led her to co-found initiatives such as The Solar Movement and The Solar Biennale, which bring designers, scientists, and the public together around solar innovation. Projects like Heliotex are also made possible by the collaborative environment in the Netherlands. According to Van Dongen, the country has become one of the most progressive solar innovation ecosystems in the world. Close cooperation between designers, engineers, universities, municipalities, and public institutions allows experimental ideas to move from concept to real-world pilots. Government support and partnerships with cities help turn design research into working infrastructure. Heliotex itself is partly supported through this network of public and private collaboration. It shows how design, technology, and policy can work together to accelerate the energy transition.

Designing a solar future

Looking ahead, Van Dongen believes solar energy will play an even larger role in the cities of tomorrow. As urban areas heat up and energy demand rises, materials that both cool and generate power could become essential parts of urban design. By weaving solar technology directly into textiles, Heliotex demonstrates a future where energy generation becomes part of the fabric of the city itself. A future where sunlight is not just something we feel, but something we design with.