The High Tech Campus (HTC) is set to undergo significant expansion in the coming years. The campus unveiled its growth plans on Wednesday during the HTC Next event, held biannually at the campus. Following the announcement, campus director Otto van den Boogaard spoke with Studio040 about the HTC’s vision for its development.
Earlier in September, it was revealed that the HTC plans a major expansion on the southern side of the campus. This area, adjacent to the A2 motorway, will see the construction of several new buildings, including cleanrooms, laboratories, and office space.
In the next decade, the HTC aims to create 6,000 new jobs. To support this, construction will begin in mid-2025 on two new buildings, covering a total of around 17,000 square metres. An office building with 11,000 square metres of space was already completed this summer. In total, the campus is set to expand by approximately 100,000 square metres.
Strengthening Key Sectors
“We’re now firmly focused on areas like semiconductors and photonics,” says campus director Otto van den Boogaard. “NXP is a major player here, and ASML also has a significant presence. In addition, health technology is strongly represented on campus—this is essentially the core of Philips today. Holst also plays a major role in this sector.” Van den Boogaard aims to further strengthen these “key” pillars at the HTC over the next decade.
Sustainability Technology
The HTC also has ambitious plans for growth in sustainability technology, Van den Boogaard adds. “We’re committed to making further progress in the field of sustainability. We hope to attract one or two more major players in this sector. As for who we have in mind, I’m keeping that to myself for now.”
He believes this expansion will also benefit the wider region. “For the region, it’s crucial to have a broad base of companies that can drive future growth. While there will always be one or two companies that are growing rapidly, the goal is to expand that base and ensure we also have companies that represent future growth. That’s the direction we want to keep moving in here.”
Growth
Van den Boogaard sees firsthand how the High Tech Campus is becoming an ideal environment for the development of new and promising tech companies. “The main source of growth for the campus comes from within,” says the CEO. “More and more small companies are setting up here—start-ups, scale-ups, and spin-offs from TU/e. We’re seeing these companies grow, and we do everything we can to support them in that process.”
Champions League Level
The HTC is making significant strides in its role as a facilitator, according to Van den Boogaard. He highlights the involvement of the Singapore sovereign wealth fund CIG and the management expertise of US-based Oaktree Capital as key assets in the campus’s growth.
“It’s simply great to work with these kinds of partners—it’s really Champions League level in terms of campus development. They’re highly professional and bring a wealth of experience. As a result, our team has grown from 30 to 55 people.”
‘Short lines of communication’
‘This also allows us to do more ourselves,’ says Van den Boogaard. ‘We can hire people ourselves to manage the grounds, I think that’s a nice job to have. It has the advantage of shortening the lines of communication. Companies no longer have to give feedback about through an intermediary company, but things that could be better or are going well, feedback directly to us.’
