TU Delft | Applied Sciences

⚡ LAUNCH2 launched: alliance to accelerate hydrogen innovation During the World Hydrogen Summit 2026 in Rotterdam, the new partnership LAUNCH2 was officially launched. Together with organisations including Havenbedrijf Rotterdam N.V., Provincie Zuid-Holland, TNO and InnovationQuarter and Smart Delta Drechtsteden, TU Delft is helping to accelerate hydrogen innovation in the region. LAUNCH2 brings together companies, governments and knowledge institutions to support the development of hydrogen value chains - from knowledge sharing and collaboration to testing, scaling up and infrastructure. Representing TU Delft at the official launch was Dean Paulien Herder. With initiatives such as SubZero Rotterdam and RIFT’s circular iron fuel facility, the region demonstrates how innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurship can help drive the energy transition forward. Read more in the news article: https://lnkd.in/eSRzfmE3

🎊 Simon Groeblacher has received Take-off funding from NWO for his MagiQware project, an AI-assisted pathway to low-cost and fault-tolerant quantum computation. The grant gives researchers in phase 1 the opportunity to test the feasibility of commercialising their idea based on innovative research results. Congratulations! 👏 Quantum computing, being the heart of the quantum industry, is suffering from the noise that exists in the nature of quantum mechanics. Researchers over the years have developed a series of methods known as Quantum Error Correction, QEC, to tackle this problem. However, QEC codes are not universal. And for universality, a further step is required, known as Magic State Distillation or MSD in short. MSD protocols are very expensive and case-specific, mainly for T-gates. MagiQware offers the most general and low-cost MSD with an AI-based approach. The funding was awarded along with 37 other feasibility studies in the 2025 spring round of Take-off phase 1. One of the other granted projects is 'Thermochromic hydrogel for phase-transitioning window applications' by Marie-Eve Aubin-Tam from our Bionanoscience department.

We want to congratulate Lyla for receiving a Take-off Grant from NWO! 👏 Lyla is a spin-off from Erasmus MC and TU Delft | Reactor Institute with Jeroen Plomp and Antonia Denkova as their technical and nuclear advisors. With the phase 2 funding of the Take-off programme, innovative, knowledge-driven start-ups in the early stages of their development receive a loan to get their business off the ground. Targeted Radionuclide Therapy offers a breakthrough in oncology, enabling treatment of metastatic cancers once considered untreatable. Clinical and commercial adoption, however, is stalled by inadequate quality control. Current methods measure only diagnostic gamma signals and fail to verify therapeutic alpha radiation, leaving safety and efficacy uncertain. With tightening regulations, this bottleneck blocks market access for developers. Lyla overcomes this challenge with technology that directly measures alpha radiation. Supported by Take-off Phase 2, Lyla will validate the system with clinical partners, optimise key radionuclides, establish certified production, and secure investment to enable global scaling. The funding was awarded along with ten other early-stage trajectories in the 2025 fall round of Take-off phase 2. One of the other granted projects is Resilient seed coatings by Carapace Biopolymers, a spin-off from the Picken Group at our Chemical Engineering department. Photo credits: Lyla Lyla is part of the Delft Enterprises B.V. portfolio

🎊 Marie-Eve Aubin-Tam has received Take-off funding from NWO for her thermochromic hydrogel for phase-transitioning window applications in greenhouses. The grant gives researchers in phase 1 the opportunity to test the feasibility of commercialising their idea based on innovative research results. Congratulations! 👏   Aubin-Tam's solution focuses on enhancing greenhouse efficiency by utilising thermochromic windows, which passively adjust their transparency in response to a predetermined temperature. Unlike traditional chalk coatings that remain fixed throughout the season, these windows allow optimal sunlight exposure during cooler periods while reducing excess heat in high-temperature conditions. This adaptive shading improves crop growth, reduces the need for ventilation, and minimises CO₂ losses, resulting in both economic and environmental benefits for greenhouse operators.   The funding was awarded along with 37 other feasibility studies in the 2025 spring round of Take-off phase 1. One of the other granted projects is 'MagiQware: AI-assisted pathway to low-cost and fault-tolerant quantum computation' by Simon Gröblacher from our Quantum Nanoscience department. Greenhouse photo by Katrien Van crombrugghe on Unsplash

We want to congratulate Carapace Biopolymers for receiving a Take-off Grant from NWO! 👏 Carapace is a spin-off from the Stephen J. Picken Group that was co-founded by Marouschka Blahetek and Suellen Espindola. With the phase 2 funding of the Take-off programme, innovative, knowledge-driven start-ups in the early stages of their development receive a loan to get their business off the ground. Carapace Biopolymers develops biopolymer seed coating solutions with impact for a fast evolving agricultural sector. Their products help seed breeders, growers and farmers transition away from high chemical usage and microplastic-producing materials whilst creating plant resilience to face climate stresses. Within the two year Take-Off 2 project, they will expand the team and early-stage production, positioning themselves to become investor-ready and rapidly scale as they enter the market in 2028. The funding was awarded along with ten other early-stage trajectories in the 2025 fall round of Take-off phase 2. One of the other granted projects is CLINIQ by LYLA, a spin-off from our Radiation Science & Technology department and Erasmus MC. Image credits: Delft Enterprises, Carapace Biopolymers

Wil jij leren hoe je cellen kunt gebruiken om nuttige producten te maken? En hoe je behandelmethoden en medicijnen ontwikkelt die écht het verschil maken? Meld je dan aan voor de BSc Life Science and Technology! Heb je nog vragen over deze opleiding? Kom dan naar onze 'Last Question Day' in Leiden op vrijdag 26 juni van 13.00-16.00 uur. Link in de comments 👇 Tijdens de Last Question Day vertellen we je graag nog meer over onze bacheloropleiding LST, geven we je een rondleiding en je kunt al je (laatste) vragen stellen aan LST-studenten en de opleiding. Dit is hét perfecte evenement voor als je nog twijfelt of als je andere voorlichtingsevenementen van Life Science and Technology hebt gemist.   

The food industry loses billions of euros every year, mostly due to factors such as food fraud and accidental contamination. But there are also other health-related issues, because of allergens which are not disclosed in the food.  Martin Pabst and Pim Schaasberg present the work of ProteoT, a startup that has developed a software solution which can analyse food components.  ProteoT harnesses the power of protein analysis to provide better and safer food for everyone. The innovative part is mostly the software solution dedicated to food analytics, which is currently a unique solution in the market.  The support from Biotech Booster for the startup helps with setting up the paid pilots and making use of their network. It is a powerful network that is necessary to get food in the market, get know-how and understand the competitive field. If you are working in the food analysis labs or in collaboration with, and you want to make better food available within protein research, feel free to contact ProteoT for a better and safer food world.  For more information, click the link in the comments. This video was created by Biotech Booster

Unfortunately, microplastic pollution is prevalent; estimates are that we eat about a credit card worth of plastic each week. 13.000 tonnes of microplastics end up in the soils each month from just coatings alone. Carapace Biopolymers, a spin-off from TU Delft, wants to limit the ways in which we put microplastics into our soils. In this video Marouschka Blahetek, CEO and co-founder of Carapace Biopolymers, presents their biobased and fully biodegradable coating alternatives. Carapace introduces beneficial microbes into the coating technology that they develop, allowing them to fully tailor their solution to specific crop types and needs. Their goal is to limit the amount of microplastics in the value chain and to reduce the reliance on general agrochemicals. Biotech Booster has helped Carapace Biopolymers to get closer to the University of Wageningen, and has also allowed the startup to do more external testing. For more information, click the link in the comments 👇 This video was created by Biotech Booster

🎊 Congratulations to Freek Pols, Georgios Varnavides and Saullo G. P. Castro for receiving an Open Science Meetings Grant from Open Science NL! With this funding, they will organise an event on 4 November 2026 in Delft about 'Connecting open science and open education through digital interactive, executable narratives'. The goal of the Open Science Meeting is to strengthen the adoption of JupyterBook as a key infrastructure for open science and open education. Freek, Georgios and Saullo aim to enable participants to use Jupyter Book through hands-on experience, while building a shared understanding of its capabilities and potential applications in research. Open Science NL is the national programme that aims to promote and accelerate the transition to open science in the Netherlands. The aim of the Open Science Meetings funding instrument is to allow open science communities to organise meetings on topics of common interest. Bottom-up support will benefit these communities and the connections between them by allowing open science practices to blossom and spread faster.

We want to congratulate Constellate Proteomics, a spin-off from the Chirlmin Joo Lab, on winning the Academic Startup Competition! 👏 Last month, co-founder and TU Delft researcher Carlos de Lannoy had the opportunity to present what Constellate Proteomics is about at the Academic Startup Competition 2026. Along with nine other winning startups, his startup stood out through their innovation, clarity of vision and ability to translate science into real-world impact.   Carlos de Lannoy and Constellate co-founders Dennis de Beeld and Arian Khoshchin are building the next generation of protein analysis tools for biopharma developers. They are a team of scientists and business minds from Delft University of Technology, on a mission to accelerate life-saving therapeutics development with their innovative analytical instrument.   The startup will now move to the final phase of the programme where they will further sharpen their strategy, expand their network, and prepare for the next step: their international journey to the US. The Academic Startup Competition is an annual programme aimed at accelerating the most promising academic ventures from Dutch universities, research institutes, and applied science institutions. It seeks to fast-track the growth of ambitious founders by refining their focus and opening new opportunities.