Twente’s high-tech ecosystem looking for a boost in manufacturing capacity

From the get-go, the Nanolab cleanroom of University of Twente’s nanotechnology institute MESA+ has been open for business as well as academic research. Companies working on integrated photonics, MEMS, microfluidics and other micro and nanotechnologies are welcome to do R&D, prototyping and even low-volume production runs there. With companies gaining access to expensive facilities that they can’t afford by themselves, and the institute getting useful outside input for its research agendas, the shared-facility arrangement has been a boon for all involved. However, it’s been getting harder to combine academic research activities with low and medium-volume production requirements of companies, says Timo Meinders, managing director of MESA+.

“Companies are expanding their manufacturing activities, which is causing some pressure on the allotted time for academic research. Additionally, once they’ve developed a stable manufacturing process, they want to change as little as possible. Researchers, on the other hand, want to take equipment to its very limits. Although manageable, it’s not optimal,” Meinders explains.