Representative Michiel Scheffer fired the figurative starter pistol for One Planet Research Center in Wageningen, this past Friday, 10 May 2019. One Planet is an open innovation center for healthy food, healthy living and a healthy planet. Oost NL supports this initiative from the beginning, together with the Province of Gelderland and other partners.
One Planet is an initiative from Imec Netherlands, the Wageningen University Research Center (WUR), the Radboud University and Radboud University Medical Center (Radboud UMC). It will be here that new solutions will be found for the challenges of tomorrow. Challenges such as: how do we feed 50 billion people without exhausting Earth’s resources? How do we keep healthcare affordable? How can we extend longevity while still keeping healthy?
Predicting and preventing disease
Examples of projects that will be carried out in the innovation center:
- Microchips that can both predict and prevent disease
- ‘Smart’ glasses that can discover diseases such as Alzheimer and Parkinson
- ‘Smart’ sensors for plants that can regulate greenhouse environments
- Producing more food in less soil by growing crops stacked in buildings.
Silicon Valley
The Province of Gelderland has earmarked €65 million over the coming eight years as funding for the startup phase of the initiative.
We see One Planet as a unique opportunity to strengthen the already considerable technological resources and climate of innovation in the region - our own Silicon Valley. One Planet is seen as strengthening the region’s world-class position in nutrition, agriculture and health, to retain talent in Gelderland and to give small- and medium-enterprises access to global markets.
As Michiel Scheffer himself proudly stated, “With One Planet, Gelderland will become the Silicon Valley of the food industry.”
Source
province of Gelderland, translation Oost NL
