The ‘Small
Projects Fund’ INDUSTR_I4.0 will accelerate the digital transition within the (manufacturing)
industry in the entire Dutch-German border region. In doing so, the project
does not focus on the frontrunners, but rather on the group of SMEs that
follows: the fast-followers. The focus is on the adoption and implementation of
digital technology to accelerate innovations among SMEs.
INDUSTR_I4.0
is supported by the Interreg VI program Germany-Netherlands. Oost NL is
implementing the project. Companies can apply for subsidies for feasibility
studies and innovation projects from April 2024. A total of 10 million euro is
available for this purpose. INDUSTR_I4.0 runs from 2024 to 2027.
In recent
years, great strides have been made in the digital transition of
(manufacturing)industry/ industry 4.0, also known as Smart Industry. But we are
not there yet: research by Radboud University shows that only 15% of
entrepreneurs in the border region use advanced Industry 4.0 technology and
that much of this technology is developed in isolation and hardly connects with
other digital technologies.
While a small part of the business community has benefited from digital
transition support measures in recent years, a larger part seems to be
struggling to capitalise on the opportunities of the digital transition: The ‘fast-followers’
thus risks falling further and further behind the leading group and losing
connection.
INDUSTR_I4.0
aims to change this. Specifically, by realising 80 cross-border digital
innovation projects and 80 feasibility studies. With its focus on adoption and
implementation of digital technology, the instrument matches the target group.
In doing so, the focus is not on the development of an entirely new AI
protocol, for example, but rather on the application of AI to further innovate
business processes. In the coming years, INDUSTR_I4.0 will support around 200
entrepreneurs in the border region. Within the projects, cooperation between
Dutch and German partners is a requirement.
View the project website here: https://www.industri4-interreg.eu/.
