Labs

Connecting founders to industry leaders.

Through labs we put our worldwide network to work alongside founders solving real challenges across energy, food, education and more. Together, through 7 Labs, 16 European projects and 95 international partners, we act as one in Europe.

The other labs · 6 more labs where innovation is tested in the real world▾
Guest speaker in front of a full classroom at Unknown
EducationLive
Students at the campus table
Talent & Labour MarketLive
Food
FoodLive
Caballero Fabriek courtyard with picnic tables and planting
Urban DevelopmentLive
Founders in conversation at a matchmaking table
Finance & BankingNew
Founder presenting a drone at Securing the Future
Security & PeaceNew
All projects · 94+ challenges & collaborations across every Lab▾

Energy 17

Energy Hub Binckhaven
Active
Euro Battery Group · Stedin · Shell · TU Delft · TNO
A live, shared energy system at the heart of the campus, connecting on-site solar, hybrid battery storage, bidirectional EV charging and a smart microgrid – letting founders test energy generation and smart management at real scale while relieving pressure on the public grid.
Shell New Energy Challenge
Active
Shell · Rockstart · Unknown Group · YES!Delft
Co-managed a multi-year global challenge scouting 1,000+ cleantech ventures to launch 30+ pilots (e.g., €100k PoC with Shell GameChanger), scaling storage and decarbonisation assets for local energy hubs.
EBG Hybrid Battery Storage
Active
Euro Battery Group · Powercrumbs
Integrated modular battery storage systems to smooth peak campus loads and enable reliable power feed-back during local grid congestion.
Hygro Energy Storage & Pulsed Power
Active
HYGRO · Huygens · Unknown Campus Titaan
Built an R&D demonstration energy-storage and pulsed-power unit at Titaan campus to validate local grid-balancing capabilities.
Newton Energy Heat Recovery
Newton Energy
Deployed wastewater heat-recovery hardware to capture wasted thermal energy directly on-site, relieving peak electrical demand on local grid infrastructure.
Bayer Carbon 0 Opportunity Scan
Bayer Carbon Ventures Brasil
Delivered an opportunity scan assessing Carbon 0 agricultural solutions to reduce supply-chain emissions for crop science operations.
Forvia Clean Mobility & CCUS
Forvia
Scouted 48 clean-mobility startups and selected 11 finalists for industrial pilot collaborations focused on heat integration and carbon capture.
Grundfos Controlled Environment Optimisation
Grundfos
Developed a technology exploration model analyzing vertical farming and climate control startups to optimize energy-efficient indoor farming infrastructure.
Nobian CO₂ Reduction Challenge
Nobian
Executed a targeted open innovation challenge engaging 450+ startups and selecting 4 for active pilots to reduce CO₂ emissions by 25% by 2025.
Damen Startup Challenge
Damen
Facilitated maritime startup matchmaking to launch proof-of-concept projects for energy-efficient ship propulsion and clean port operations.
SHV Energy Challenge
SHV Energy
Outreached to 300+ startups across 45 countries to select 5 finalists for fully paid pilots targeting a 25% carbon reduction in off-grid energy supply.
Nam Energy-portfolio Transition
NAM
Scouted 32 energy storage startups and initiated a compressed-air storage pilot with winner Storelectric to repurpose redundant gas pipelines.
Stichting DOEN Low Carbon Economy
Stichting DOEN · Nationale Postcode Loterij
Screened 90 green startups and selected AquaBattery to scale an eco-friendly salt-and-water electrical storage system for local energy balancing.
Engie Bio-methanol & Marine Hydrogen
Engie
Sourced 24 alternative fuel startups and facilitated a marine methanol engine pilot contract with ScandiNAOS.
Strukton Energy Savings in Public Buildings
Strukton · Hellebrekers
Evaluated 67 building-efficiency ventures and executed a smart-blinds pilot with Kindow to cut thermal energy demand in public facilities.
Van Oord Offshore Energy & Marine Infrastructure
Van Oord
Scouted 93 offshore startups and initiated a vessel remote-control pilot with Abyssal to streamline offshore renewable infrastructure deployment.
I3-4-Blue Growth
ANI Portugal · EU Capacity Building
Co-delivered EU capacity building programs to accelerate marine decarbonization and sustainable blue economy innovation across European coastal regions.

Food 18

Waste 2 Plate - Side Stream Valorisation
Active
EIT Food · European Union
Co-launched an EU initiative to upcycle industrial food side-streams into 1M+ nutritious consumer servings per year by 2027.
EIT Food - Traction & Sales Booster
EIT Food · PepsiCo · Givaudan · BASF · DSM
Built the 'Traction' framework and hosted 21+ dealmaking sessions to help European agrifood scaleups expand into international retail markets.
Uniting Water Energy Food (UWEF) Tour
RVO · Expo 2020 Dubai · Netherlands Government
Organized an international dealmaking tour connecting 2,500+ startups to corporate leaders, culminating in 18 finalists showcasing solutions at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Bayer Life Hub - Sustainable Diets Insight Report
Bayer Life Hub Sao Paulo
Delivered an insight report analyzing startup innovations in undernutrition and overnutrition to guide healthy, sustainable diet strategies in Brazil.
Emmi - Animal-Free Dairy
Emmi Group
Scouted 70 global foodtech startups across precision fermentation and molecular farming, selecting 2 to explore commercial animal-free dairy products.
IFF - Sustainable Flavoring
IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances)
Scouted and matched novel ingredient ventures with IFF to accelerate clean-label, sustainable flavoring solutions into retail supply chains.
Cosun Beet - Bio-polymers & Packaging
Cosun Beet Company · Suiker Unie · Dockwize · Cargill
Screened 80 biobased startups and facilitated a pilot with Blocktrax to turn agricultural side streams into biodegradable packaging materials.
Lely - Smart Agriculture Monitoring
Lely
Connected IoT sensing and automated robotics startups with Lely to enhance real-time livestock health monitoring and reduce farm emissions.
BioVoice - Biodegradable Packaging
BioVoice
Matched regional agrifood residual streams with packaging scaleups to commercialize compostable alternatives to single-use retail plastics.
Hero - Baby Food Innovation
Hero Group
Supported venture-building and spin-off validation for next-generation organic infant nutrition and healthy fruit-processing concepts.
KiCo Co-working Kitchen
KiCo
Established a shared commercial kitchen hub at Binckhaven allowing food founders to rapidly prototype and test sustainable food concepts.
ICEX Desafia Foodtech - Spain ⇄ Netherlands
ICEX Spain · Binckhaven · Dutch Corporates
Executed a 2-week immersion and 8-week mentoring program for Spanish foodtech scaleups, securing corporate pilots including two with supermarket giant Jumbo.
DSM - Protein Alternatives & Meat Replacement
DSM · YES!Delft
Scouted 1,000+ ventures and selected Shiru for a joint development pilot to replace animal gelatin with plant-based alternatives.
Givaudan - Plant-based Meat
Givaudan
Evaluated 29 clean-label ingredient startups to find all-natural solutions that replicate the visual and culinary qualities of red meat.
PepsiCo - Functional Nutrition & D2C
PepsiCo
Scouted 50+ nutrition ventures and launched a micro-encapsulation functional ingredient pilot with AnaBio Technologies.
FrieslandCampina - Gut Health
FrieslandCampina
Outreached to 79 functional nutrition startups and initiated 3 microbiome-enrichment pilots for human and animal health.
Heineken - Sustainable Packaging & 'Drop the C'
Heineken
Scouted 227 sustainability startups to eliminate beverage packaging carbon footprints and develop circular sharing formats.
QLIP - Dairy Testing
QLIP
Screened 139 high-tech analysis startups and initiated 2 quality-assurance pilots with Spectrolytic and SP3H to streamline dairy testing.

Education 10

MBO Education of the Future
Active
I Am College
Co-created practical vocational (MBO) modules embedding real-world entrepreneurial skills into technical curricula.
GLUE (EIT HEI)
Active
EIT · HEI Consortium
Co-designed cross-border innovation curricula uniting higher education institutes with industry ecosystems across Europe.
Deep Tech Valleys
Active
EIT · HEI Initiative
Established institutional training networks across European regions to train students and researchers in commercializing deep-tech research.
NEB Catalyser
Active
EIT Community New European Bauhaus
Accelerated sustainable design startups by delivering masterclasses and awarding up to €50k in EU subgrants.
UBS - Road to IPO Academy
UBS · Unknown University · Titaan
Co-designed and hosted an executive training program at Titaan for 33 global scale-up founders (€80M average funding raised) preparing for IPO.
Global School for Entrepreneurship
Global School for Entrepreneurship
Scouted 30 EdTech startups to implement agile LMS software and gamified learning platforms for accredited higher education degrees.
EdTech Validation Lab
TU Delft · Leiden University · Erasmus Rotterdam
Screened 53 educational startups and accelerated 7 winners (including iThrive and Hubert.ai) into university classroom pilots.
HightechXL - Deep-tech Venture Building
HightechXL
Delivered hands-on venture-building education and dealmaking sessions to translate advanced 3D-printing and sensor patents into commercial startups.
YES!Delft - Incubator & Validation Lab
YES!Delft
Evaluated 20 tech ventures and guided 13 selected AI and blockchain startups through intensive business model validation programs.
Biotech Campus Delft
Biotech Campus Delft · YES!Delft · DSM
Scouted 40 global biotechnology scaleups and successfully selected Cellulosic Technologies to relocate and scale at the Delft lab hub.

Talent & Labour Market 11

AI Academy for SMEs (Company-wide AI Skills)
Active
Bit Academy · Unknown · SME Consortium
Delivered practical AI upskilling programs for entire SME workforces to convert theoretical digital skills into day-to-day productivity gains.
Equals Academy Den Haag
Active
Equals · Multi-partner Alliance
Executed specialized tech and AI training tracks for women, directly placing female talent into tech sector job roles in The Hague.
Empowering Blue-Collar Workers
Skel-Ex · Bilfinger · Airbus · Ministry of Defence
Evaluated 30 ergonomics startups and launched an AI smartwatch and smart-shirt health tracking pilot with Wearhealth for industrial workers.
EU Mozambique - Business Accelerators & Social Inclusion
ECE · CoworkLab · Unknown
Implemented EU-backed incubator programs in Mozambique to build local founder capacity and create formal employment pathways.
UNDP - Maldives Innovation Ecosystem Mapping
UNDP · SparkHub · Women in Tech Maldives
Delivered a comprehensive ecosystem research report for UNDP identifying key local stakeholders and actionable strategy recommendations to unlock tech talent in the Maldives.
Indonesia-Netherlands ACCESS
Embassy of NL in Indonesia · RVO · ANGIN
Facilitated corporate matchmaking and workshops connecting Indonesian startups with Dutch enterprises to drive international employment growth.
Enterprise Singapore - Go Beyond
Enterprise Singapore · RVO
Executed a 10-week market entry track guiding Singaporean startups into Dutch corporate partnerships to scale cross-border tech talent.
Cartier Women's Initiative
Cartier
Engaged 95+ impact founders across 20 countries, guiding 18 female entrepreneurs into fellowship programs to scale their business talent.
Bayer Foundation - Women Empowerment Award
Bayer Foundation
Received 980+ applications across 35 countries, awarding €25k grants and business coaching to 15 female agricultural leaders.
Singapore Unlocked - SMRT × Bolloré
SMRT · Bolloré Logistics · RVO
Organized 51 dealmaking sessions for 12 Dutch tech startups to upgrade workforce capabilities and logistics automation in Singapore.
Nationale-Nederlanden - Integrated Workforce Management
Nationale-Nederlanden
Scouted 91 HR-tech startups and launched a corporate performance management pilot with Clear Review to optimize employee retention.

Urban City Development 15

Urban Greening & Livability
Active
Municipality of The Hague · AM · BPD
Turning a former industrial quay into a car-free, green public campus that showcases urban solutions at 1:1 scale – mobility, greening, water and mixed living-and-working trialled on site to shape the wider Binckhorst transformation.
BINCCCO - Circular Waste Collection
Active
Unknown · Oscar Circulair · Impact City
Co-designed a New European Bauhaus community initiative establishing localized circular waste hubs to improve liveability in the Binckhorst district.
I3-SPACE
Active
15 partners · 8 EU countries · Interreg
Distributed cascade funding to 20 urban-climate SMEs utilizing GNSS earth observation to improve smart city resilience.
Rotterdam Unlocked - Circular Economy & Food Waste
Municipality of Rotterdam
Evaluated 77 circularity startups and commissioned carbon-upcycling pilot feasibility studies with Bergen Carbon Solutions and Deep Branch.
MRDH - Public Transport & Parking Pressure
MRDH · RET · HTM
Scouted 59 urban tech startups and launched real-time parking intelligence pilots with Bliq and Parkeagle to relieve city congestion.
Accelerate the Future - Smart Mobility
Hyundai Motor Group · KIA
Engaged 2,600+ smart city startups across 3 open challenges, shortlisting 400+ applicants for urban logistics and mobility partnerships.
Bayer Social Innovation Award - Water
Bayer Corporate Giving
Screened 490+ water ventures and awarded €35k grants to 4 winners (including Nazava and CPlantae) to secure clean drinking water access.
Dunea - Tap Water Safety & Heating
Dunea · IF Technology · Municipality of Rotterdam
Scouted 54 clean-tech startups and launched a low-energy nano cavitation pilot with H2O Technics to eliminate legionella in municipal water grids.
APM Terminals & Maersk - Smart Container Tracking
APM Terminals · Maersk
Executed a logistics scouting sprint to initiate a predictive AI cargo tracking pilot with ClearMetal, improving urban port throughput.
Aditya Birla - Circular Plastics & Packaging
Aditya Birla Group · Clean Air India
Screened 400+ international circularity startups to select alternative packaging materials (such as Paptic) for municipal waste reduction.
Deutsche Bahn - Digitalization & Station Mobility
Deutsche Bahn AG
Evaluated 65 smart transit ventures, awarding DB Mindbox PoC slots to V-Locker (automated bike parking) and WeeAgree to streamline station hubs.
KPN - Connected & Automated Driving
KPN
Scouted 69 autonomous mobility startups and conducted 5G Field Lab trial runs with winner Roboauto to optimize urban traffic safety.
Achmea - Comfortable Living
Achmea
Scouted 40 neighborhood-tech startups and launched a digital community management pilot with Sowebuild to foster local resident cohesion.
Bouygues - Housing of the Future
Bouygues Construction
Evaluated 110 prop-tech applicants and initiated a smart home management pilot with Esmart to lower building operational energy use.
LTO Noord - Combat Land Subsidence
LTO Noord
Outreached to 32 agritech startups and selected 7 finalists to pilot profitable wetland cultivation techniques that prevent soil subsidence.

Health & Care 8

Philips - Smarter Healthcare
Philips · HighTechXL
Scouted 80 digital health startups and facilitated an AI clinical diagnostic pilot contract with CureMetrix for radiology workflow efficiency.
Erasmus MC & DermaHaven - Referral Insights
Erasmus Medical Center · DermaHaven
Scouted 30 medical analytics startups and launched GP-to-specialist referral data pilots with Green Orange and Culture Amp.
Maasstad Hospital - Patient Experience
Maasstad Hospital
Screened 35 health-tech ventures and launched a patient educational engagement pilot with winner Behandeling Begrepen.
Enver & Kinderplein - Youth & Childcare
Enver · MC Kinderplein
Sourced software robotics startups and launched an autonomous social robot pilot with DOT Robot to streamline youthcare administration.
Fosun - Asia-Pacific Health Market
Fosun Healthcare · EY
Scouted 142 MedTech ventures and secured a pediatric respiratory wearable pilot with AEvice Health in the APAC market.
L'Oréal - Beauty Innovation
L'Oréal
Scouted 25 biotech ventures and executed pilots with Sequentialskin (skin profiling) and String Bio (sustainable raw materials).
Unilever Neutral - Sensitive Skin
Unilever (Neutral)
Evaluated 84 personal care ventures and launched commercial pilot contracts with 3 startups including Georganics and OrganiCup.
Antes Groep - Healthcare Efficiency
Antes Groep
Sourced mental health diagnostics startups to automate patient intake and increase operational administrative efficiency.

Finance & Banking 9

Frontier Founder Fellowship
Active
FCAT® · Fidelity Investments
Run with FCAT (Fidelity Center for Applied Technology), the fellowship helps Europe’s frontier founders bring breakthrough technologies – from AI and quantum computing to digital identity – into financial services, with access to research, mentorship and a route into one of the world’s largest financial ecosystems.
ABN AMRO - Econic Innovation Lab
ABN AMRO · HighTechXL
Scouted 584 FinTech startups and managed 25+ pilot projects leveraging blockchain and AI to modernize corporate banking services.
Rabobank - Foodtech & AI Innovation
Rabobank · CupolaXS
Embedded project management leaders within Rabobank HQ to coordinate scouting for Money2020 and Global Entrepreneurship Summit tracks.
HSBC - Living Business Programme
HSBC
Enrolled 51 Middle Eastern companies in sustainability acceleration tracks, achieving 1,800+ tonnes of direct CO₂ reduction across 6 implementation projects.
ING × FinTech Village
ING · FinTech Village
Scouted 50+ banking startups and executed tailored Proof of Concept projects with Stride.AI and Minna Technologies.
EY - Professional Services of the Future
EY
Scouted 73 B2B tech ventures and initiated 5 predictive corporate analytics pilots (including LexaTexer) across audit and tax divisions.
Robeco - Gamified Investment
Robeco
Evaluated 54 millennial finance startups and initiated pilot projects with Bankify and Gamification Nation to gamify personal investing.
Saudi Telecom (STC) - InspireU
STC · InspireU
Scouted 75 digital logistics startups and awarded an e-commerce fulfillment pilot to winner Pick.
Think Forward Initiative
ING · Deloitte
Scouted 37 financial literacy startups and onboarded 10 pre-selected ventures into an accelerator program to boost consumer financial health.

Retail & Industrial High-Tech 5

Hexagon - Sixth Sense Open Innovation
Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence
Scouted 650+ smart manufacturing startups globally, onboarding 10 finalists into scaling programs and selecting Gelsight and Castor as winners.
LG Chem - Global Sustainability Challenge
LG Chem
Built a single white-label portal and hosted direct Q&A sessions to screen international ESG startups for chemical manufacturing pilots.
ASML & NTS - High-Tech Manufacturing
ASML · NTS Group
Scouted 77 semiconductor and photonics startups, securing pilot contracts with 3 ventures including Ferroelectric Memory Company and CAllabs.
Media Markt - AR & AI Customer Experience
Media Markt
Screened 115 retail-tech ventures and launched a visual messaging pilot with Flow.ai to enhance store customer interaction.
Fujitsu - CaaS & Workplace of the Future
Fujitsu
Identified 128 computing-as-a-service startups and showcased blockchain cybersecurity winner Storro at the Fujitsu EMEIA Forum.

Defence, Security & Peace 5

Securing the Future
Active
The Hague Security Delta · Ministry of Defence · Municipality of The Hague
Rallies founders, industry and government around defence, cyber-resilience and societal security – channeling dual-use technology and startup energy toward keeping open societies safe, secure and resilient.
NATO Innovation Challenge
NATO Innovation Hub · Dutch Ministry of Defence
Scouted 800+ dual-use tech startups and executed an online global pitch day featuring 10 finalist video pitches for first-responder deployment.
Ministry of Defence - Techstars Allied
Dutch Ministry of Defence · Techstars
Scouted 20 European space technology ventures, placing 4 selected Dutch and Norwegian startups into the 13-week Techstars acceleration program.
NIDV Exhibition Defence & Security (NEDS)
NIDV
Scouted 20 defense ventures and hosted a public awareness campaign where Dynaxion won an invitation to represent Dutch innovation at Sea Air Space 2021.
Red Cross - Saint Martin Hurricane Recovery
Red Cross · StartupDelta · ImpactCity
Evaluated 80+ disaster-relief proposals post-Hurricane Irma and implemented 1 winning infrastructure rebuilding solution on the island.

Unknown global partner network

95+ partners across Europe, North America and Asia. Acting as one.

Trusted by founders, corporates & partners
HSD
Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship
Cartier Women's Initiative
LG Chem
Defensie
Bit Academy
Shell Ventures
Aditya Birla Group
EIT
Fujitsu
Hyundai | Kia
Rabobank
New European Bauhaus
Tehnoloski park Split
Damen
HSBC
Bayer
JA Europe
Groundstation Space
EIT Food
Municipality of The Hague
UBS
Shell GameChanger
AM
Hexagon
FCAT
HSD
Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship
Cartier Women's Initiative
LG Chem
Defensie
Bit Academy
Shell Ventures
Aditya Birla Group
EIT
Fujitsu
Hyundai | Kia
Rabobank
New European Bauhaus
Tehnoloski park Split
Damen
HSBC
Bayer
JA Europe
Groundstation Space
EIT Food
Municipality of The Hague
UBS
Shell GameChanger
AM
Hexagon
FCAT
Partner spotlights
In partnership with FCAT®

Frontier Founder Fellowship

The Frontier Founder Fellowship is delivered in collaboration with the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology (FCAT®), an innovation launchpad for Fidelity Investments, to help Europe's visionary frontier founders bring breakthrough technologies to market - from AI and quantum computing to digital identity and next-gen interfaces. It unlocks how advances from across industries can transform the future of the financial world.

Explore the fellowship →
Watch on YouTube
EIT Food· Waste2Plate

Waste2Plate

Together with EIT Food we support food entrepreneurs who turn the waste and side-streams of food production into value - repurposing by-products that would otherwise go to waste.

Visit Waste2Plate →
Featured project