With ASM as an anchor and a planned research institute focused on advanced materials, Almere wants to build a new high-tech campus from scratch, creating room for the Dutch semiconductor industry to keep growing. On the southern shore of Almere’s Weerwater lake, a new Dutch high-tech cluster is taking shape. The municipality plans to develop the High Tech Campus Almere over the next ten to fifteen years as part of a broader innovation district combining companies, research and education. The plans, which the city has been working on for several years, were formally announced in December 2025, when ASM, the municipality of Almere and the province of Flevoland signed an outline agreement for the semiconductor equipment maker to become the campus’ first occupant. ASM plans to invest several hundred million euros in the site, which is to house its new global headquarters, an R&D center, a training hub and part of its product development operations. In parallel, the national government and the Flevoland region are exploring the establishment of the Institute for Advanced Materials & Metrology (IAMM) in Almere. TNO is preparing a business plan for the institute together with the municipality, the province, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the University of Twente, Eindhoven University of Technology and companies including ASM. Bits&Chips’ Dutch state of semicon 2026 This article is part of the Bits&Chips special edition on the Dutch state of semicon, published on 23 October 2026. Order your hard copy of the special at info@techwatch.nl. Almere wants the company and the proposed research institute to serve as anchors for a broader cluster of high-tech companies, particularly those working on advanced materials and metrology. The municipality is now developing the campus profile and preparing the selection of a development partner, with the aim of starting construction around mid-2027. Pie It’s not difficult to see why Almere would want to host a high-tech hotspot. The 50-year-old city is a commuter town, whose residents flock to Amsterdam in the morning and travel back in the afternoon. By generating local high-value employment and building schools, the region would take on an economic identity of its own. There would also be economic spillover effects for local suppliers, service providers and hospitality businesses. “Almere has grown much faster as a place to live than as a place to work: Around 60 percent of employed residents work elsewhere. With land becoming scarcer, the municipality wants to shift away from attracting space-hungry logistics and distribution activities and toward a more knowledge-intensive economy offering more jobs per hectare,” says Khadija Imaalitane, program director of High Tech Almere. But does the project also make sense on a national level? Eindhoven, Delft and Twente already boast well-established high-tech ecosystems, for which the Dutch national government has set aside billions to accommodate further growth. Concentrating investment in regions that already have companies, knowledge institutions and talent creates powerful network effects, and Almere isn’t an obvious name on the Dutch high-tech map. Why not direct resources where the industry is already strongest? Credit: Municipality of Almere Imaalitane: “These regions are increasingly running into constraints on space, infrastructure and other resources. For the semiconductor industry to be able to continue growing in the long term, we’ll need additional locations. Almere has this additional space on offer, along with access to the Amsterdam talent pool.” While Almere has more room to maneuver than the Brainport, the region isn’t free of constraints, Imaalitane admits. “Nitrogen emissions, water availability, housing and grid congestion all require attention here as well.” On electricity, however, Flevoland’s position may be unique. The province generates substantial amounts of dispatchable electricity and has negotiated the ability to deploy tha