The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has recently granted about 10 million euro’s in funding to a consortium aiming to create more sustainable forms of Information Technology. Prof. dr. ir. Hans Hilgenkamp, from the University of Twente, is the main applicant for the project, suitably named ‘NL-ECO’. The consortium consists of 33 institutions from all over the Netherlands and Europe, among which HFML-FELIX, working together to reach this important goal.
Humanity has gained a lot from the digital revolution, but all of the modern technologies and their associated equipment demand a lot of energy. With the prospect of this need growing exponentially in the future, NL-ECO aims to develop new materials and technologies for more efficient Information Technology. To accomplish this, they are taking the human brain, still the most efficient computer we know, as their source of inspiration. With this, they strive to create multiple scalable concepts within a limited period of 5 years.
The NL-ECO project receives its 10 million in funding from a specific research program: ‘Research on Routes through Consortia’. This is part of the National Science Agenda (NWA-ORC), which strives to contribute to society through the expansion of knowledge for the future.