In the coming period, the intended expansion on the north side of the BIC campus area will be further investigated together and the plan will be further developed. The possible expansion of ASML at BIC Noord is of great significance for Brainport Eindhoven, the Netherlands and Europe, because it makes a long-term commitment to Europe, the Netherlands and more specifically the Brainport region. For BIC this means that it offers opportunities for accelerated development of the campus.
Councilor Stijn Steenbakkers (Brainport and Economy): “This is a crucial moment and an important step for the future. For Brainport Eindhoven, but certainly also for the Netherlands and Europe. ASML and the semiconductor chain form the champions league of our future economy and prosperity, with jobs at all levels and throughout the economic chain. The company’s profile fits seamlessly into the DNA of the campus. BIC is the epicenter of production and innovation in our high-tech manufacturing industry, where entrepreneurship, joint innovation, education and collaboration come together under one roof in a green landscaped environment. With the possible expansion of ASML at BIC, we are building the future earning capacity of the region and the Netherlands and thus a bright future for our children and grandchildren. We are thus accelerating our choice of the type of industries we no longer want in Brainport and even more emphatically for the new economy. One that is sustainable, focused on technological development and devising solutions for global social issues such as sustainability, digitalization and health.”
Capacity for approximately 20,000 jobs at BIC Noord
The number of jobs within ASML in the Netherlands will grow significantly in the coming years. ASML would like to remain close to its main location (with R&D, production and service) in Veldhoven and has therefore expressed its preference to expand in the Brainport region. To facilitate this growth, the northern part (clusters 3 to 6) of the Brainport Industries Campus is being considered as an expansion location. BIC is divided into 6 clusters, of which BIC 1 is fully leased and the realization of BIC 2 is expected to start in 2025/2026. ASML would have capacity for approximately 20,000 jobs at BIC Noord.
Roger Dassen, CFO of ASML: “ASML has a long-term location strategy to enable expansion and support the growth of our customers. As we have said before, ASML prefers to keep its core activities in the Netherlands as close as possible to the existing locations in Veldhoven, as this promotes collaboration between the teams and different units, which is necessary to stimulate innovation. BIC is an interesting option for us that we are now exploring together with the municipality of Eindhoven. Decisions about future locations of our company must be supported by favorable conditions, such as the availability of talent, infrastructure, housing and by a strong investment climate in general. The recently announced government measures contribute to this. ASML is also actively involved in addressing these issues and in this way ensuring sustainable growth that benefits everyone.”
Attention to social challenges
In addition to opportunities, the possible expansion of ASML at BIC also brings challenges. Including in the areas of housing, infrastructure, healthcare and (basic) facilities. The municipality and ASML believe it is very important for the growth of the Brainport region that possible expansion takes place in balance, that attention is paid to the major challenges and social cohesion in the city and that everyone has the opportunity to participate. With the package of measures of 2.51 billion euros (Operation Beethoven), including a significant contribution from the region and the regional business community, an important preconditional step has been taken in collaboration with the government to facilitate the balanced growth of the region until 2030. . This package will be further developed in the near future and also requires direction and further attention after 2030 from the government, the province and municipalities in Brainport Eindhoven.
The Municipality of Eindhoven and ASML are jointly continuing to work on structural social programs. An example of this is strengthening the commitment of ASML and the business community in four social funds in the areas of housing construction, accessibility, talent and the Brainport for each other social program. In this development, extra attention is paid to jobs for practically trained people and untapped labor potential. This will be further elaborated in the coming period.
Brainport Industries Campus
The most innovative, sustainable and successful manufacturing companies from the high-tech manufacturing industry come together on Brainport Industries Campus. BIC is developing into a campus in a natural area. The possible expansion of ASML at BIC Noord will contribute to perfecting BIC and offers opportunities to develop BIC more quickly. In this way, the entire innovation ecosystem, together with educational partners, can come even closer to innovation. To make this development possible, no more or additional surface area is allocated to the industrial estate. The possible development of ASML will take place in the space already intended for this purpose in the BIC master plan, but at a higher pace than originally anticipated. This also accelerates nature development, which contributes to the green ambitions of the municipality of Eindhoven.
The majority of the land (± 80%) in BIC is already owned by the municipality. The remaining lands still have to be acquired. In order to maintain firm control over area development and to prevent unwanted sales and price gouging, the municipality has immediately established a pre-emptive right in the area. The municipality will issue the land required for ASML’s expansion on a perpetual leasehold basis.
Follow-up process
In June, the letter of intent between the municipality of Eindhoven and ASML will be discussed with the Eindhoven city council. When the council agrees and the municipality and ASML reach agreement on the urban development design and the cooperation agreement, the planning procedure can then be started. In July, the council will make a decision on continuing the pre-emptive right on land in the BIC North area that is not yet owned by the municipality.