TopDutch Innovation Challenge
Applications are now closed for the TopDutch Innovation Challenge. But we’ll be sure to keep you updated throughout this year of innovation as two top Japanese companies in the Northern Netherlands collaborate to find a solution to their sustainability challenge.
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World Expo Osaka 2025
From April 13 to October 13 2025, the World Expo with the theme ‘Designing Future Society for Our Lives’ will take place in Osaka, Japan. About 150 countries and 25 organizations will participate in it, and 28 million visitors are expected to arrive. This makes the Expo an international stage for countries to present themselves to the world.
The Netherlands will have a powerful presence at the Expo, with the large Netherlands Pavilion offering visitors a unique taste of the nation’s innovation, sustainability and the solutions it offers for global challenges.
The Netherlands has their own theme for the Expo: 'Common Grounds: a Dutch invitation for creating healthy societies together'. With this, the Dutch pavilion will aim to be a platform to bring different perspectives and expertise together to create common solutions.
Japanese challenges and Dutch innovations
The Expo in Osaka is the perfect opportunity to both celebrate and intensify the innovative cooperation between Japan and the Netherlands. In the TopDutch region, we’re doing this by organizing an innovation challenge. Two top Japanese companies with a base in the Northern Netherlands are ready to spend the next year innovating together with a Dutch start-up to find a solution to a challenge they are facing.
Soy sauce producer Kikkoman and coffee roaster UCC have formulated challenges to make their production process even more sustainable and circular.
UCC's Challenge
The company UCC currently roasts its coffee using natural gas. In order to continue to produce their delicious coffee through the sustainable transition, this originally Frisian coffee roaster with a Japanese parent-company wants to prepare for a future without natural gas.
UCC wants to transition from roasters running on natural gas to hydrogen. In the short-term, the first step is to make their largest roaster compatible with both natural gas and hydrogen. At first, hydrogen will be used for testing the technology and gaining experience using hydrogen as a fuel. As the price of hydrogen becomes competitive with that of natural gas, a long-term fuel transition will be made.
Do you think you have the technology, knowledge or expertise to help UCC realise the conversion of their roaster? Read the details of the technology and the challenge via the button below, and apply to the TopDutch Innovation Challenge right away!
Kikkoman's Challenge
Kikkoman is a world-famous Japanese soya sauce brand with a presence in the TopDutch region for over 25 years. As part of their commitment to sustainability and circularity, Kikkoman want to find a more valuable use for their waste streams.
Kikkoman hopes to find a suitable and innovative application for the waste stream ‘soy cake’. They envision making bio-plastics from soy cake that can be used to produce Kikkoman's soy sauce bottles.
Kikkoman is looking for a production partnership. As solution provider, you will start a partnership with Kikkoman in which you develop a process to handle the soy cake, in order to produce packaging exclusively for Kikkoman at your own company. Do you think this partnership could be with you? Read more about the challenge and the details of the technology via the button below, and apply to the TopDutch Innovation Challenge right away!
Sorry! The deadline for applications to the TopDutch Innovation Challenge was the 15th of September 2024. We are no longer accepting entries. If you want to keep up with the challenge, don't forget to follow TopDutch on our social media channels!
