DIFFER Seminar: What is deeptech and why is it getting so much attention?

Abstract: While the term deeptech is rather old, it has known a resurgence in the past 10 years and has recently become a priority topic for many countries out of concerns about climate change, energy security, competitiveness, resilience, etc. Large investments are made in the sector- mostly coming from venture capitalists- and many countries (including the Netherlands) have announced ambitious plan for deeptech innovation.

The term deeptech refers to "innovations grounded in significant scientific/technological breakthroughs, using disruptive technologies to address fundamental societal challenges" and has mostly been used in the context of startups- although deeptech innovation can also come from existing companies. It typically requires long development times and significant capital investments which makes it totally different from the wave of software innovation. Being rooted in science, deeptech is by nature very connected to universities and research centres and tech transfer is an important part of it (and often a bottleneck).In the energy sector, the need to electrify our economies, and the unmatched versatility of electricity as an energy vector, offers new perspectives for deeptech innovation.

This presentation will discuss the history of deeptech, the current trends and bottlenecks, the massive opportunities for researchers and entrepreneurs, and discuss the role Techleap plays in the Netherlands to help create a global hotspot for science-based ventures and innovation.