AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -The Dutch government pledged 70 million euros ($82 million) on Friday for the construction of an artificial intelligence plant in the northern city of Groningen.
The plant, which will be managed by a consortium of Dutch organisations, is intended to become a European research hub for the development of AI technologies in applications ranging from agriculture and healthcare to energy and defence.
The government has also applied for European Union co-financing worth another 70 million euros for the plant, it said in a statement, potentially adding to the 60 million that the Groningen regional administration also plans to contribute.
“Those who do not develop the technology themselves are dependent on others. That is why we are fully committed to a strong, Dutch AI infrastructure”, Minister of Economic Affairs Vincent Karremans said on the government’s website.
Europe is looking to develop its own AI infrastructure, fearing that too much reliance on companies from an increasingly isolationist United States is a threat to Europe’s economy and security.
If all goes to plan the plant will be commissioned in 2026 and will be running at full power in early 2027, the government said.
“This is not a luxury, but a pure necessity to maintain our digital independence and competitiveness”, Karremans said.
($1 = 0.8533 euros)
(Reporting by Nathan Vifflin in AmsterdamEditing by Mark Heinrich, Mark Potter and Frances Kerry)