TU Delft launches Dutch defense tech hub for startups

The MIND Tech Center has officially launched in Delft. It is the first Dutch innovation hub where the Ministry of Defense, startups, and innovative SMEs work side by side on security and defense technology within a secure environment. Located on the campus of the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), the center will focus on emerging applications such as drones, underwater sensors, and satellite technology.

The initiative is a joint project between the Ministry of Defense, TU Delft, and the province of South Holland. Alongside its substantive contributions, the province is investing €1 million in the center, with additional co-financing from Kansen voor West III, part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Collaboration as the basis for innovation

Provincial officials say the investment addresses a longstanding gap: until now, the Netherlands had few places where startups and SMEs could collaborate directly with Defense under strict security requirements. The new center is intended to let companies develop, test, and scale their innovations more quickly. Some participating firms will come from existing South Holland innovation ecosystems — including Leiden Bio Science Park, the Port of Rotterdam, NL Space Campus in Noordwijk, and Unmanned Valley in Katwijk — while companies from elsewhere in the Netherlands and Europe will also be able to join.

Meindert Stolk, the provincial executive (gedeputeerde) for South Holland, framed the launch as a matter of both innovation speed and resilience: "Tomorrow's technological breakthroughs don't happen in isolation, but in collaboration. With the MIND Tech Center, an environment is created in which Defense, startups, and innovative SMEs can work together on new security and defense solutions. That accelerates innovation, strengthens our resilience, and reinforces South Holland's international position as the region for research and development."

Pushing economic competitiveness

The launch builds on a broader regional push. South Holland is among the strongest innovation regions in the Netherlands, home to numerous knowledge institutions, campuses, field labs, startups, and scale-ups that are considered key to developing "dual-use" innovations. These are technologies with both civilian and military applications.

That effort dates to 2025, when the Ministries of Defense and of Economic Affairs and Climate, the province of South Holland, regional development agency InnovationQuarter, and the Economic Board Zuid-Holland launched a joint regional collaboration on defense and dual-use innovation. Within that partnership, the province is concentrating on space and maritime domains, cyber and quantum technology, and smart unmanned systems and sensors — fields in which South Holland says it already holds a leading position in Europe.

The province describes the center as part of a broader strategy to build a strong, innovative, and resilient regional economy in which security and economic competitiveness go hand in hand.