Why Amsterdam needs smart solutions

Introduction

To attain the ambitious climate and circularity goals there is an urgency and push for technical innovations in sustainability & circular chemistry. Start-ups are forerunners in innovation, out-of-the box thinkers and agile implementers. However, the survival rate of start-ups is not very high. Amsterdam as a city has a rich combination of knowledge institutes, businesses and is also a cultural hub for highly skilled international talent.

Here a diverse set of professionals meet and form the most promising start-up teams. But technologically intensive start-ups need one more thing. They need the lab space where they can actually work on further development of their minimal viable product (MVPs). That is exactly what is missing currently in the region of Amsterdam: An affordable, fully-serviced laboratory space for start-ups who already have a proof of concept or a MVP. Open Kitchen Labs fills exactly this gap. OKL started as a pilot project in 2021, with financial support from IXA (physics to market grant) & Matrix Innovation Centers. And in 2022 we received further support from the Gemeente Amsterdam and University of Amsterdam.

By disburdening start-ups of the investments and logistics behind setting up lab spaces, we empower them to do what they are best at: innovate! In addition, by virtue of our location in the Amsterdam Science Park (ASP) eco-system, they are close to the incubator, investors and knowledge institutes.  The benefits are twofold. Not only does sharing labspace significantly reduce the costs, these start-ups also benefit from being in an environment rich in innovative ideas, enhancing the opportunities for collaborations and shared grant applications.
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Value Addition Unique to Open Kitchen Labs:

1) First of its kind subscription-based lab access in an innovation ecosystem

2)   A two-way network based on concrete scientific collaborations between start-ups and academics. Being located at Amsterdam Science Park next to the UvA, expertise of researchers at knowledge institutes at ASP is highly regarded amongst the start-ups.

3)   OKL is an expansion of the sustainability & circular chemistry ecosystem at ASP, allowing stimulation on subsidies, grants and investments that the start-ups can apply for, either individually or as project partners

4)   Business services thanks to incubators and organisations like ACE, PiM & KPlusV on campus

5)   Resiliency because of having critical resources co-located in shared spaces enables smooth operating at all times, and resilient to supply chain disruptions

6)   Strategic use of start-up funding: Instead of start-up investments leaving campus, start-up funds can stay on campus supporting existing shared equipment facilities and even expanding the equipment capabilities of those facilities.

Come join us today!

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