Twente chip plant secures power and water
New Origin can continue building a photonic chip plant in Enschede.
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Plans for a new chip plant in Enschede took an important step forward on Monday. New Origin, the municipality, the province, the water board and grid operator Enexis say they have found a solution for the energy and water supply.
New Origin’s plant is intended to produce photonic chips at the Kennispark in Enschede. These are chips that use light to transport or process information. The company is focusing on silicon nitride technology and wants to manufacture chips as an independent foundry for, among other things, photonics and quantum applications.
According to the University of Twente, intensive work has been carried out in recent months on the conditions for the plant. Alongside New Origin, the municipality of Enschede, the province of Overijssel, the Vechtstromen water board, Enexis and the university were involved. The parties report that both the energy supply and the availability of water have now been sufficiently arranged to proceed.
A local news source reports that approximately €100 million is available for the project. In its announcement, the University of Twente focuses chiefly on the solution for utilities and does not mention full financial coverage. It is therefore unclear what share of the amount is public, private or already definitively committed.
According to New Origin’s company information, the location connects with the knowledge infrastructure around the university and MESA+ Nanolab. According to its own company information, New Origin works with photonics companies and imec. The company wants to build a European production facility for specialised chips, a market in which the European Union wants to become less dependent on production outside Europe.
The announcement does not mean that the plant is already operational. Construction still has to take place and production will later have to be scaled up. It is also not yet known exactly how many jobs the plant will create or when the first commercial chips will come out of Enschede.
The development is economically relevant because photonics is used in data communications, measuring equipment and potential quantum applications. At the same time, the question remains how the region can connect new industrial projects to an electricity grid that is already under pressure in many places. The parties involved therefore also present the project as a test of cooperation around future high-tech industry.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- New Origin wants to build a photonic chip plant in Enschede.
- The regional parties involved report that the energy and water supply arrangements have been worked out.
- The plant is not yet operational.
Left
Arguments Public support for high-tech is defensible if it leads to good jobs, knowledge-building and strategic independence, but companies must show that social costs and grid capacity are shared fairly.
Values Collective provisions, workers, regional development and public control.
Consequences Without conditions, public support can privatise risks; with clear requirements, the plant could instead generate broad economic benefits.
Centre
Arguments A project with demonstrable knowledge and market potential deserves room, but financing, water use and grid connection must be assessed transparently and reviewed periodically.
Values Feasibility, transparency, innovation and prudent governance.
Consequences A phased approach limits risks and makes it possible to adjust course if costs or the schedule increase.
Right
Arguments The Netherlands should make room for entrepreneurship and strategic industry and prevent regulation or slow infrastructure decisions from pushing investment abroad.
Values Competitiveness, ownership, economic growth and national resilience.
Consequences Faster permits and connections can create jobs and innovation, but public funds should not structurally keep inefficient companies afloat.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The technical and administrative core has been confirmed by the University of Twente and supplemented with information from New Origin. The financing is worded cautiously because it is reported mainly by a local news source.
- confirmed New Origin wants to build a photonic chip plant in Enschede. — Confirmed by the University of Twente and New Origin. source
- confirmed The parties say they have found a solution for energy and water. — Reported by the University of Twente. source
- uncertain Approximately €100 million is available for the project. — Reported only by Nieuwskoerier.nl; it is therefore not presented as fully independently established. source
Editor's note
The parties involved confirm the solution for power and water. The scale and status of the financing, the construction schedule and the number of jobs are less fully documented independently.Sources
- Breakthrough paves the way for New Origin chip foundry in Enschede — Universiteit Twente
- Stroom- en waterprobleem opgelost en benodigde 100 miljoen euro is er — Nieuwskoerier.nl
- New Origin: Dutch ChipTech Foundry for Photonics — New Origin
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „chipindustrie fotonica”
- FD — „chipindustrie fotonica”
- AD — „chipindustrie fotonica”