economy
Dutch Machinery Output Surged 45%, but the Industrial Recovery Is Uneven
CBS reports a 12% annual rise in Dutch factory output and a 45.1% gain in machinery. Chemical production is still contracting, complicating the national picture.
Author
Daan Vermeulen
Technology & Semiconductors Correspondent, Dutch Business Review
Daan Vermeulen covers semiconductors, artificial intelligence infrastructure and advanced technology for Dutch Business Review. His beat centres on ASML and the wider Brainport supply chain, but also includes quantum computing, photonics and the power infrastructure needed to support new digital capacity.
His work looks at the commercial consequences of technical bottlenecks, export controls, customer investment cycles and industrial policy rather than repeating product announcements at face value.
Daan treats the semiconductor sector as a system rather than a list of famous companies. His reporting follows lithography, deposition, packaging, chip design, photonics and precision engineering across the Brainport supply chain, with supplier roles and technical dependencies kept explicit.
That system view also shapes his coverage of export controls and industrial policy. He asks which capability is constrained, where substitution is realistic and how power, labour or customer capital spending can limit expansion even when demand is strong. Technical milestones are therefore tied back to commercial scale.
Articles by Daan Vermeulen
industry
Nyrstar Puts Budel Under Review: Dutch Energy Costs Are Deciding What Europe Still Makes
The zinc producer says Budel is losing money and the Netherlands 2027 budget does not sufficiently address its structural energy-cost disadvantage.
technology
ASML's Next Constraint Is Not Demand. It Is How Fast Veldhoven Can Build EUV Machines
ASML is examining production above 110 EUV systems in 2028 as AI chipmakers pull orders forward. The bottleneck has shifted from the supply chain to assembly itself.
technology
The Netherlands and Germany Want a European AI Chip. Their Real Advantage Is the Ecosystem Around It
NADI and Germany's SPRIND are putting €40 million behind AI-assisted chip design, a small programme with a larger strategic question: where Europe can still build defensible semiconductor advantage.
technology
EU Data Centres Face New Energy and Water Rating Rules as AI Capacity Surges
A proposed EU rating scheme covering data centres above 500kW will make energy and water use more comparable as the bloc prepares minimum performance standards and seeks to triple capacity.
startups
Euclyd Raises More Than €200 Million as Eindhoven's AI Chip Ecosystem Expands Beyond ASML
The unusually large Series A brings Samsung, EQT's Scaleup Europe Fund and European deep-tech investors behind a Dutch startup attacking AI inference efficiency.
technology
ASML High-NA EUV: Why the Chip Industry Is Committing to $400 Million Machines
Intel has already processed more than a million wafers on High-NA systems, while Samsung, SK Hynix and TSMC have now set production plans. The industry's years-long adoption debate is narrowing.
technology
Chips Act 2.0 Could Turn Europe's Semiconductor Clusters Into a Competitive Weapon
The Commission's Chips Act 2.0 proposal adds faster permitting, strategic projects, demand accelerators and a new Semiconductor Regions of Excellence label to Europe's chip policy.
policy
Dutch Grid Congestion Is Becoming an Investment Constraint, Not Just an Energy Problem
Dutch Business Review survey data show 67% see grid constraints as very significant or critical to AI and data-centre growth, reinforcing official warnings about connection queues.
technology
Dutch Business Is Still Confident in the Semiconductor Cluster, but Capacity Is the Real Test
A Dutch Business Review survey finds 78% optimistic that the Netherlands can retain a leading semiconductor position, while talent, grid capacity and supplier depth remain the constraints to watch.
technology
The Netherlands Wants AI Sovereignty. The Frontier-AI Alarm Shows Why It Matters
The Netherlands has launched an international strategy for a safe, responsible AI transition. We examine Dutch AI sovereignty, foreign dependence and frontier-model risk.
technology
ASML Made Europe Critical to the AI Supply Chain. Does That Give the Netherlands Power Over the AI Race?
ASML is critical to advanced semiconductor production. We examine what that means for Dutch leverage over AI compute, export controls and the frontier-AI race.
technology
The Dutch Semiconductor Value Chain: ASML, ASM, Besi, NXP and the Suppliers Between Them
A value-chain guide to the Netherlands' semiconductor ecosystem across lithography, deposition, chip design, packaging, precision systems and research.
technology
How to Read the Brainport Semiconductor Supplier Map
A guide to the OEM, first-tier and specialist supplier layers that make Brainport Eindhoven one of Europe's densest high-tech manufacturing ecosystems.
technology
ASML Wants High-NA EUV to Print Larger AI Chips. The Roadmap Runs to 2033
ASML plans to adapt High-NA EUV for larger AI and data-centre chips using bigger masks, with a pilot line targeted for 2031 and volume production by 2033.
startups
Dutch Startup Funding Fell to €1.9 Billion in H1 2026, but the Biggest Rounds Got Bigger
Dutch startups raised €1.9 billion across 65 rounds in H1 2026, down 59.8% year on year. See the biggest rounds, sectors and funding concentration.
technology
Dutch Semiconductor Company Database: Equipment, Chips, Photonics and Precision Suppliers
A maintained database of Dutch semiconductor companies and suppliers across lithography, deposition, packaging, chips, photonics and precision engineering.
technology
ASML Begins Massive Eindhoven Expansion as AI Demand Strains EUV Capacity
ASML has begun construction at BIC North near Eindhoven. The 350,000-square-metre campus could support up to 20,000 workplaces as EUV demand rises.
technology
VDL and the Semiconductor Supply Chain: Why a Diversified Dutch Industrial Group Matters to Advanced Chip Equipment
A researched profile of VDL's role in the Dutch high-tech and semiconductor equipment supply chain, using current group results and company disclosures.
technology
Prodrive Technologies: The Son-Based Engineering Company Building Systems for the Semiconductor Equipment Chain
A researched profile of Prodrive Technologies and its role in Dutch semiconductor equipment, precision systems and electronics manufacturing.
technology
SMART Photonics: Eindhoven's InP Foundry and the Netherlands' Bet on Integrated Photonics
A researched profile of SMART Photonics, the Eindhoven indium-phosphide foundry, its current production platform and planned 6-inch pilot line.
technology
ASM International: The Dutch Semiconductor Equipment Company Leveraged to Gate-All-Around and AI
A researched profile of ASM International, the Dutch wafer-processing equipment group positioned around atomic layer deposition, epitaxy and advanced-node semiconductor manufacturing.
technology
Besi: Why Advanced Packaging Has Become a Strategic Dutch Semiconductor Capability
A profile of BE Semiconductor Industries and its role in semiconductor assembly, packaging and hybrid bonding as AI chips become more complex.
technology
Inside ASML's Dutch Supplier Ecosystem: Why 1,600 Netherlands Suppliers Matter
A detailed guide to ASML's supplier ecosystem in the Netherlands, how the Veldhoven model works, and why precision engineering, optics, mechatronics and software suppliers are central to Europe's semiconductor position.
technology
Dutch Photonics: The Semiconductor Cluster Beyond Conventional Silicon
A guide to the Netherlands' integrated-photonics ecosystem, PhotonDelta, Brainport research and the role of photonic chips in next-generation communications, sensing and AI systems.
technology
ASML Wants High-NA EUV to Print Larger AI Chips. The Fix Is a Bigger Mask
ASML is developing larger masks for High-NA EUV with Nvidia, Intel, TSMC and Samsung. The plan could enable larger AI chips and raise system productivity by 40%.
technology
Dutch Semiconductor Industry Reaches €45.6 Billion as Jobs Nearly Double in Six Years
CBS says Dutch semiconductor turnover reached €45.6bn in 2025 and jobs rose to 43,200. Explore the six-year growth of the Netherlands chip sector.
technology
19 Dutch Semiconductor Companies at SEMICON Taiwan Show What Exists Beyond ASML
The Netherlands Pavilion at SEMICON Taiwan 2026 features 19 Dutch semiconductor companies and organisations. Here is what each part of the supply chain contributes.
technology
NXP's $250 Million EIB Loan Shows Europe's Chip Strategy Extends Far Beyond European Fabs
NXP secured a $250 million EIB loan for its Malaysia semiconductor assembly and test expansion. Why the financing matters to Dutch and European chip strategy.
technology
Nexperia Says Chinese Preservation Orders Do Not Affect Its Current Operations
Nexperia says Chinese court preservation measures do not affect current operations. The orders relate to entities outside its governance since October 2025.
technology
Dutch Semiconductor Companies and Suppliers: Who Does What
A source-linked guide to Dutch semiconductor companies, including ASML, NXP, ASM, Besi, SMART Photonics and specialist suppliers, organised by business function.
technology
Could ASML Become Europe's First Trillion-Dollar Company?
Why ASML's valuation has surged in 2026, how AI chip demand is driving EUV lithography orders and what could stop the Dutch company reaching a $1 trillion market value.
technology
The Dutch Grid Is Becoming a Constraint on Data-Centre Growth
How Dutch electricity-grid congestion is limiting data-centre and industrial growth, and what TenneT's investment plans mean for businesses seeking new power connections.
technology
Amsterdam's Quantum Opportunity Starts With Software, Not a Machine
Amsterdam's QuSoft research, quantum software and post-quantum security explained, separating commercial experiments from practical preparation.
technology
Eindhoven's €150 Million Photonics Project Targets the Gap After the Lab
Eindhoven's six-inch photonic chip pilot line explained: indium phosphide, manufacturing scale, customer qualification and the difference from ASML.
technology
ASML's High-NA EUV Programme Is Moving From Demonstration Toward Manufacturing Readiness
ASML's High-NA EUV roadmap moved closer to high-volume manufacturing in 2025. What the EXE:5200B, customer wafer runs and productivity milestones mean for the semiconductor supply chain.