Eneco and Volt: political action needed for AI Gigafactory

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy must make a swift decision on Dutch participation in the European joint procurement of artificial intelligence (AI) computing capacity. This call is made by Chief Executive Officers Han de Groot (Volt) and Kees Jan Rameau (Eneco) in a letter [see download, in Dutch only] to the new ministers. Both companies want to build an AI Gigafactory, but without a financial commitment from the Netherlands participation in the European tender will not be possible.

The European Union will shortly launch a tender for the construction of five AI Gigafactories, for which €20 billion in European funding has been made available. A prerequisite for participation in the European tender is that the Dutch government also makes a financial commitment, or pre-purchases computing capacity. In the latter case, the Netherlands would also receive a substantial discount due to the advantages of joint procurement. However, the tender deadline is approaching rapidly.

The Netherlands is excellently positioned to host a European AI Gigafactory, thanks in part to its high-quality digital infrastructure and the availability of renewable electricity from offshore wind. For this reason, several Dutch parties, including Eneco and Volt, have already submitted an expression of interest.

The project is mentioned positively in the report by Peter Wennink as a crucial component in strengthening the competitiveness of the Dutch economy. He also supports the call made in the letter from Volt and Eneco.