Almere aims for status as ‘Silicon Valley of the Polder’

Almere is transforming. With the launch of Innovally and the arrival of a brand-new high-tech campus, Almere is breaking with its past as a logistics hub. The city is fully committed to chips, AI, and robotics. It will be a while before construction begins, but there is a lot to happen in the coming period, such as “a collaboration with one of the largest innovation hubs in Barcelona,” says project director Danny Frietman.

Almere is a very young city: this year, it is celebrating its 50th anniversary, compared to Amsterdam, for example, which is 750 years old. The economy is still in full development, with room for new initiatives, experiments, and rapid growth.

However, the polder city has been struggling with a problem for years. While the population grew explosively, high-quality employment lagged behind. For decades, the city served as a supplier of flex workers and logistics personnel for the Amsterdam region. That era must now come to an end. With the transformation of the Green Innovation Hub into Innovally and the development of an ambitious high-tech campus, Almere is embarking on a radical change of course. The goal is clear: to become the ‘Silicon Valley of the Polder’.

The campus strengthens the Netherlands' international position. ASM and other companies and knowledge institutions are working on key technologies for digitization, the energy transition, healthcare, and defense—technologies that directly contribute to the Netherlands' earning capacity.

A change of course

Frietman, who has long been committed to the ICT and tech sector in Almere and Flevoland, saw the shift years ago during the Floriade. “When I walked across the event grounds, I noticed that digitization was becoming increasingly important,” he says. According to him, the name Innovally fits in seamlessly with this and appeals precisely to the target group he wants to reach. He is already noticing this effect. “In recent months, we have suddenly been inundated with an incredible number of innovative initiatives. Parties identify particularly with the mission to accelerate together and feel drawn to Innovally.”

Collaboration with major players

To get an ecosystem off the ground, you need an anchor. For Almere, that anchor is ASM International (ASMI). The chip machine manufacturer is investing hundreds of millions in a new headquarters and R&D facilities on the planned high-tech campus, a game changer that will turn the plans from paper into reality.

Innovally is also supported by heavyweights such as VodafoneZiggo, the Province of Flevoland, and the Municipality of Almere, and works closely with partners such as HightechNL, BTG, and VDL.

A green, vibrant environment

What will the campus actually look like? Khadija Imaalitane, Program Director at High Tech Almere, has an idea. “The strength of the campus lies in creating synergy between business, research, and education,” says Imaalitane. "In Almere, we have always built in a green and future-oriented way — and we are doing the same here: the campus will be a green, healthy, and vibrant place with plenty of space to walk, exercise, and meet, where you can really experience nature and water. It will be easily accessible, with strong connections to the train station, and designed for a mix of working, learning, and researching. With high-quality meeting places — from coffee shops to lunch spots. This will create a campus that people enjoy coming to, where talent wants to stay, and where collaboration and knowledge exchange happen almost automatically."

This knowledge exchange must take place fully between knowledge institutions and companies. In addition to ASMI, work is underway on the arrival of the Institute for Advanced Materials & Metrology (IAMM), a collaboration with TNO, among others. This institute must link fundamental research to the practical applications of the companies in the field. In his report, Wennink rightly considers IAMM to be one of the most important national projects in the field of digitization and AI.

Complementary to existing regions

In the Netherlands, the market is too small to compete with each other. “That is why we believe it is important for Almere, as a high-tech hotspot, to complement existing regions and their ecosystems,” Imaalitane continues. “Instead of duplicating efforts, we are looking closely at what other regions already offer and investigating what Almere can best facilitate. We are currently focusing on research and development in materials and methodologies, including applications for defense and other strategic sectors. In the coming period, we want to further concretize this and attract companies that fit our focus in a very targeted manner.”

Frietman is also committed to collaborating with other regions. “Innovally is, as it were, at the center of a crossroads of connections: Eindhoven in the south, Groningen in the north, Wageningen in the east, and Amsterdam in the west.” From this geographical hub, he actively collaborates with all these regions.

Plenty of challenges to overcome

Creating a high-tech hotspot does not happen automatically. There are plenty of challenges to overcome, Frietman admits. One of the biggest is running public-private partnerships. "It's quite a task to combine the commercial interests of major players, such as VodafoneZiggo, with the changing priorities of a municipal council and a changing economy. “Maintaining a common course can be difficult. But the positive side of the story is, of course, that many parties are enthusiastically cooperating.”

Looking to the future

Construction is not expected to start until 2027. Until then, Innovally will act as the driving force to get networks and programs up and running. There will be no waiting for the bricks and mortar.

“There are already some great plans on the agenda for the coming period,” explains Frietman. “We are currently running a major innovation program on smart mobility in the region, together with the province. This includes self-driving buses and everything related to them. And this is just the beginning: we are going to expand the program.”

Frietman is also looking forward to a new collaboration. “On March 3, we will sign a collaboration agreement with Tech Barcelona, one of the largest innovation hubs in Barcelona,” says Frietman. They support approximately 4,000 startups and scale-ups, mostly high-tech and dual-use. “Together, we are launching an exchange program to strengthen knowledge, talent, and innovation between the Netherlands and Barcelona.”