NWO Announces €7 Million Digital Twin Programme
NWO Announces €7 Million Digital Twin Programme
Synopsis
• NWO opens a major Digital Twin research call with €7 million in funding available.
• Projects must deliver accurate, up-to-date Digital Twins for societal and industrial use.
• Public-private consortia, co-funding requirements, and broad sector applications outlined.
• Matchmaking event will support consortium building for applicants.
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The Dutch Research Council, NWO, says in its official announcement that it has opened a new funding call titled “Digital Twinning – Actual and accurate models for insight, optimisation, and decision-making”. The programme, as stated in the original NWO report, allocates €7,000,000 to develop next-generation Digital Twin technologies that offer real-time accuracy, actionable insights, and practical value across social, industrial and scientific domains.
According to NWO, the call focuses on creating Digital Twins capable of analysing, predicting and improving complex systems. These virtual representations can support decision-making and long-term optimisation across sectors such as healthcare, energy, agriculture, industry, safety and mobility. The organisation emphasises that the initiative is intended to strengthen both fundamental knowledge and real-world applications, with Digital Twins playing a central role in structural process improvement.
The research programme encourages the formation of interdisciplinary public-private consortia, combining technical disciplines, social and behavioural sciences, applied organisations and industry partners. NWO notes that the call also directly addresses challenges related to responsible data use, integration of Digital Twins, autonomous decision-making and cross-domain linkage between models.
Projects may request between €1.5 million and €2.2 million, with NWO funding up to 80% of the total project scope. The remaining amount must be provided through mandatory co-funding contributed by participating organisations. The council expects to award four full proposals under this scheme. Each consortium must include at least one main applicant, one co-applicant and a minimum of two co-funders, with additional academic or industrial partners welcomed to strengthen domain expertise.
To support collaborations, NWO will host a matchmaking event on 3 February 2026, designed to help participants share project ideas, identify expertise gaps and find potential partners. NWO states that participation is optional but strongly recommended. Applicants can also submit their research concept in advance when registering for the session.
The council explains that this initiative forms part of the Knowledge and Innovation Covenant (KIC) 2024–2027, developed alongside the KIA Digitalisation and KIA Key Enabling Technologies agendas. NWO highlights that these programmes aim to accelerate scientific innovation with direct economic and societal impact, ensuring that companies invest alongside knowledge institutions and government bodies.
In addition to this programme, NWO notes that two other calls related to Digital Twins are currently open. The NWO–TenneT partnership specifically targets Digital Twin development in the energy sector, while the broader Digital Twinning call focuses on lowering barriers for cross-domain adoption of Digital Twins to address diverse societal challenges. Both initiatives aim to support robust public-private research ecosystems.
NWO reiterates in its communication that its mission is to fund top-level research while shaping national scientific priorities through dedicated programmes and management of infrastructure. The Digital Twinning call fits within this mandate, reinforcing the organisation’s aim to drive innovation, economic opportunity and societal benefit through technologically advanced research.
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About The Dutch Research Council (NWO)
The Dutch Research Council (NWO) is the leading organisation responsible for funding scientific research in the Netherlands, playing a pivotal role in shaping the country’s innovation landscape. As a national authority, NWO supports top-tier researchers, advances groundbreaking scientific programmes and manages critical knowledge infrastructure that underpins long-term economic and societal progress.
The council allocates funding across disciplines through competitive calls, ensuring that research contributes both to fundamental understanding and practical application. NWO also facilitates collaboration between universities, industry partners and government bodies, fostering public-private ecosystems that accelerate innovation. Its work spans major national themes, including artificial intelligence, digitalisation, sustainability, key enabling technologies and strategic sectors essential to the Netherlands’ future competitiveness. By developing mission-driven programmes such as the Knowledge and Innovation Covenant (KIC), NWO strengthens interdisciplinary research, stimulates co-funded investment and ensures scientific outcomes translate into real-world impact. Through this mandate, NWO remains central to advancing Dutch science and technology.
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