On 9 December, the Dutch Innovation Prize 2024 was awarded at the seventh edition of the BID National Innovation Gala. Innatera, Huisman Equipment and Plinkr were declared winners. In addition, Koppert Cress and Lely received special recognition for their innovations in the agricultural sector.
The Dutch Innovation Award
The Dutch Innovation Prize, an initiative of the Amsterdam Centre for Business Innovation (UvA), honours Dutch companies that excel in sustainable innovation and social impact. Led by Professor Henk Volberda, the jury annually selects winners for the Dutch Innovation Prize in the categories 'Large Company', 'SME' and 'Social Impact'.
Winners 2024
Large company - Huisman Equipment
Huisman Equipment, founded in 1929 and based in Schiedam, designs, manufactures and maintains heavy construction equipment. The company provides solutions for renewable energy, oil and gas, civil works, and the shipping sector.
SME: Innatera
Innatera, a TU Delft spin-off, develops innovative neuromorphic processors that mimic the workings of the human brain. This technology makes sensor data processing 100 times faster and up to 500 times more energy efficient than conventional processors. With these pioneering chips, Innatera is contributing to a sustainable future in technology. It is headquartered in Rijswijk.
Social Impact: Plinkr
Plinkr, founded in 2017 in Eindhoven, supports social workers with digital solutions to guide people with financial problems to a life free of money worries. Their technology was developed in collaboration with experts and experts' experience and offers a combination of stress reduction and practical support.
Special recognition for innovation in the agricultural sector
The agricultural industry plays an increasingly important role within the Dutch innovation sector. This year, the Big Improvement Day (BID) decided to give special recognition to nominated companies in this sector.
Koppert Cress
Koppert Cress is an organization specialising in natural ingredients, such as cresses and edible flowers, that chefs use to enrich their dishes.
Lely
Lely is a developer of advanced robots and data systems that improve animal welfare and production on dairy farms.
Jan Kees Goet, Secretary-General of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LNV), presented the awards.
BID Innovation Award
All nominees for the Dutch Innovation Award also received the BID Innovation Award, an initiative of the Big Improvement Day. Besides the above companies, these were Daito Design, Kreber, PureBlue Water, Phalanxes, Portbase, Van Der Lee Turbo Systems and Zytec.
"Each of the 12 nominees managed to leave thousands of companies behind and are paragons of innovation. For their exceptional performance and contribution to our society, whether on an international scale or not, they deserve recognition," said Ralph van Hessen, initiator of the Big Improvement Day.
Big Improvement Day
The Big Improvement Day (BID) was set up in 2008 to highlight and advance positive developments in the Netherlands. Since then, every year on the third Tuesday of January, the top echelons of the Dutch government and business community come together for 'the most positive day of the year' and this 'day of decision-makers'. Over the past 15 years, BID has become a platform for meetings, new ideas, and progressive collaborations between the public and private sectors. With names like Louis van Gaal, Loek Hermans and Prince Constantijn van Oranje-Nassau, the top of the Dutch government, business, sports, healthcare and education meet several times a year during Improvement Days to make contact, share knowledge, show visions and enter into collaborations.
Source: Amsterdam Centre for Business Innovation (UvA)