Take-off is a funding instrument that encourages activity and entrepreneurship within the Dutch knowledge institutions. With this instrument, academic entrepreneurs, starters from universities of applied sciences, and starters who are making use of knowledge from institutions for Applied Research Organisations, can bring their innovative research results to the market.

Dissipative metamaterials for the automotive industry

Electric vehicles are vital for reducing emissions, but they are often much heavier than petrol cars because their batteries require strong protective structures. This extra weight limits driving range and increases material use. MetaSafe is a new type of material that can make electric cars both lighter and safer by absorbing impact energy far more effectively than current solutions. The NWO Take-off programme supports the team of Corentin Coulais in exploring whether this technology can be produced affordably and what is required for car manufacturers and suppliers to adopt it. If successful, the project could lead to safer, more efficient and more sustainable electric vehicles.

Frequency-stabilized optical carrier microwave interferometry for nanopositioning

High-precision manufacturers — in semiconductors, photonics integration, and advanced precision engineering — face a persistent and costly dilemma: affordable positioning sensors lack the accuracy they need, while high-performance laser interferometers are too expensive and fragile for real production environments. Frequency stabilized OCMI (Optical-Carrier Microwave Interferometry), developed and patented at the University of Amsterdam, breaks this trade-off by delivering interferometer-class performance at industrial cost and robustness. The feasibility study that Florian Schreck's team will perform will validate the commercial opportunity and technical readiness of Frequency stabilized OCMI and lay the groundwork for a spin-out company targeting a global precision metrology market.