High Tech Campus Eindhoven provides cleanroom and lab spaces for advanced R&D, testing, and pilot production. Learn more on the different types of cleanrooms and labs.
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Lab and cleanroom demand is rising. Rik and Emiel on how HTCE stays ahead.
Demand for lab and cleanroom facilities is growing steadily, according to Rik and Emiel from High Tech Campus Eindhoven. Whereas it used to be mainly multinationals who were looking for such state-of-the-art facilities, demand from startups and scale-ups is now on the rise. And there is ever more demand for speed and flexibility. It is precisely this combination that High Tech Campus Eindhoven offers. “We can pivot very quickly.”
Business Development Managers Rik Creemers and Emiel Westerhof of High Tech Campus Eindhoven meet with potential tenants and Campus residents on a daily basis. “It is our job to solve our discussion partners’ accommodation issues.” And that goes far beyond simply organizing and facilitating workspaces. “More than ever, we get asked to include sophisticated lab and/or cleanroom facilities in our offering. And ideally, all this should be delivered asap and be scalable at all times.” The pair doesn’t bat an eyelid at such requests.
“That’s what we do: we solve complex housing puzzles.”
Manager Business Development
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High Tech Campus Eindhoven
Rik and Emiel do not deliver off-the-shelf solutions. Far from it. “We’ll hold in-depth discussions with our clients to find out exactly what they need, both now and in the future. In the high tech industry, companies can grow very rapidly within a short space of time. So they need to be prepared for that. We help the people we’re talking to take this on board. We see ourselves as process facilitators rather than as simply landlords.”
Both gentlemen come with impressive track records in the property sector. Rik boasts over ten years’ experience at Kadans Science Partner, where he was responsible for letting out offices, laboratories and pilot facilities. Emiel has worked for organizations such as Pivot Park, TWICE and TU/e, where he gained experience of campus accommodation issues, but also familiarized himself with the MedTech and Health sectors.
What makes HTCE’s cleanroom and lab offer unique?
According to the pair, High Tech Campus Eindhoven has a number of specific features that make it a sought-after site for high tech industry companies and organizations. “First of all, our ecosystem, which includes more than 300 Campus residents. Here, companies become part of a network of talent, knowledge institutions and innovation partners, ranging in size from tiny to huge. Also, the Campus has its own chemical center that stores a wide range of chemical substances. And there is an umbrella Category 4.1 environmental permit that tenants can utilize.”
One issue that is very much in the spotlight at the moment is grid congestion. “Thanks to our on-Campus energy grid, the many solar panels across the Campus and our Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) system, we can make optimal use of locally generated and stored energy. By distributing energy demand across the Campus and balancing heating and cooling between buildings and across the seasons, we help reduce peak loads, improve overall energy efficiency and make the most of the available grid capacity. This provides space to grow.”
Ready-to-use (bio)chemical lab at HTC 11
Electrotechnical lab with additional cooling at HTC 46
Lab space in HTC 7
How fast can HTCE get you up and running?
It remains crucial to offer speed and flexibility, particularly in sectors such as defense, semiconductors and life sciences. In an industry where technology evolves within just a few months, slow decision-making can easily put a company on the back foot. That is why High Tech Campus Eindhoven also co-invests, where necessary, in construction of the required facilities, so that developments are not unnecessarily delayed. As the site is managed in-house and communication lines are short, the team can shift rapidly. Thanks to the scale of the Campus, suitable space is almost always available right away, including offices and turnkey electrotechnical, chemical and biochemical labs but also unique labs, such as a laser-safe room and a vibration-free room. For a bespoke cleanroom, an initial drawing can often be produced within a month. A new building can be ready within 18 months if necessary. In some cases, High Tech Campus Eindhoven also contributes to the costs of setting up a laboratory or cleanroom, enabling companies to get started more quickly and reduce their start-up costs.
Laser-safe room at HTC 11
Raised and cooled technical floor at HTC 37
“I’m often still pleasantly surprised by how quickly we get things off the ground here.”
Manager Business Development
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High Tech Campus Eindhoven
Not just a landlord
Whilst many landlords aim simply for a lease agreement, Rik and Emiel and the broader Campus team choose to be a one-stop-shop and offer a single point of contact throughout the lease. They support Campus residents not only on accommodation matters, but they also provide advice on permits, technical issues and Campus services. “We want to stay ahead of developments. So as soon as we learn that a Campus resident is entering a new financing round, we start thinking about offering a larger space, including any facilities that might be required.”
Campus resident Vivolta is a good illustration of how things work in practice. This specialist in medical electrospinning, originally a TU/e spin-off, manufactures implants made from nanofibers that help the body to heal itself. The company recently signed a deal for a pilot production facility on the Campus, including a 400 square meter cleanroom. “Vivolta’s story exemplifies what the Campus aims to be: a place where companies can go through the entire development process, from R&D and testing to pilot production and further growth. This means that startups can grow into scale-ups with an own pilot production facility, all within a one-kilometer radius,” Rik explains. “Ultimately, we want to offer companies the time and the right environment to accelerate their business,” says Emiel. “If we manage that, our mission is a success.”
Want to get in touch with Rik and Emiel?
Connect with Rik Creemers and Emiel Westerhof via LinkedIn. Or connect with them via our contactform to let them know which type of space you are looking for:
Cleanroom of Salvia BioElectronics
Cleanroom of XIVER
FAQ
Do you have questions about cleanrooms or lab space at High Tech Campus Eindhoven? Find answers to the most common topics here.
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High Tech Campus Eindhoven can provide and outfit different types of laboratories, including chemical laboratories and bio laboratories with multiple biosafety levels such as BSL-1, BSL-2, ML-1 and ML-2.
In addition, we develop plug-and-play cleanrooms designed and built together with tenants to meet ISO standards for particle control (ISO 5, ISO 6 and ISO 7). These facilities can be tailored to specific technical and process requirements and are suitable for applications such as semiconductor and chip manufacturing.
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High Tech Campus Eindhoven can facilitate organizations with activities up to environmental permit category 4.1. HTCE therefore has one permit. CVM (Coöperatieve Vereniging Milieu) is the permit holder and manages this permit. By issuing partial permits to residents on HTCE, CVM transfers responsibilities from the environmental permit to the organizations. CVM also conducts periodic audits to ensure compliance with these partial permits.
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A chemical warehouse enables delivery of small quantities within 24 hours through the Chemical and Utility Centre. All orders are tracked and registered under the permit. The Campus is equipped with its own chemical center. At the Chemical Center, all hazardous materials are stored (PGS 15), registered and transported to and collected from the buildings. Currently in stock are ~8,000 different chemicals.
The chemical island also provides for the delivery of industrial supplies. The following industrial supplies are delivered to the buildings on Campus through the campus infrastructure:
- CDA: Compressed dry air
- UPW: Ultra-Pure or DI Water
- HV: House vacuum
- EP: Emergency Power
- N2: Nitrogen
- H2: Hydrogen
- O2: Oxygen
- Ar: Argon
- Air treatment and process extraction
- Natural gas, combustible/non-combustible mixed gas
- Demineralized water, process cooling water drinking water, (hot) industrial water
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Yes, in addition to dedicated spaces, High Tech Campus Eindhoven houses a wide range of infrastructure and service providers that help you speed up your innovation cycle. These innovation service providers and facilities allow companies to use high-end equipment and technical infrastructure without the need for their own full-scale setup. Depending on your needs, you can access shared facilities and specialized expertise to support R&D, testing, and pilot production.