The footbridge that will connect Flux to the cleanroom is also useful for moving equipment, adds Martijn van Schalkwijk. As project manager at Real Estate, he’s in charge of the construction of the two buildings. “As the cleanroom will be attached to Flux, some equipment may not need to be moved. That’s good, because everything must remain clean.” Having said that, moving the equipment will be a major task in any case, because it’s so specialized. “We will have to involve suppliers. And a consultant will help us guide the process,” says Van Schalkwijk.

State of the art

In addition to the old equipment that will be moved to the new lab, a lot of new material will also be added, says Kessels. “We’re in the middle of a very large investment round of 32 million, which we’re already allowed to spend, so we already ordered some equipment and even installed it, with more on the way.” Equipment will also be added that wasn’t yet present in the NanoLab. “We will use this to make everything state of the art, but also to expand our capabilities.” According to the scientific director, the focus of the cleanroom will also change slightly. “Our research is now mainly focused on photonics. We will start doing more with electronics and quantum, which aligns with the idea of the Future Chips flagship.”

Another new feature of the cleanroom is that there will be more opportunities to bring students into the lab, says Kessels. “We still have to work out exactly how to go about this, but the idea is that every student in a relevant program will have gained experience in the cleanroom at some point. We already have students in the NanoLab, but the cleanroom is not equipped for larger numbers.” The desire to give more students access to the lab is already being taken into account in the cleanroom designs. For one thing, it will probably be compartmentalized. Kessels: “We also want to create a space from where you can look into the lab, a kind of education and experience center. It will be suitable for small-scale education projects.”

Cleanroom experience

Not all details have been finalized. The cleanroom is currently in the draft design phase, says Van Schalkwijk. “We’ve had a design team on board for a month now, and they are reviewing our program of requirements and proactively holding up a mirror to us to see what we can improve. We selected the architects based on their experience with cleanrooms, and the same goes for the installation consultant, structural engineer, and building physicist.”

One party that’s no longer directly involved in the construction of the cleanroom is ASML. Originally, there were plans for a Research Innovation Center, of which the cleanroom would be a part. ASML would build it and the university would then rent the lab from the company. The design process for this had already been set in motion, says Van Schalkwijk. “We worked together with them during that process.”

The plan was canceled, but the knowledge gained during the design process has not been lost, he says. Schellekens agrees. “We’re also still collaborating very closely through the joint lines of research. Wherever we can make use of each other’s expertise, we won’t hesitate to do so.” In addition, a significant part of the investment for the buildings will still come from ASML. And because there’s a lot of joint research, the company will also make extensive use of the lab. Kessels: “But other companies are also welcome to use it. The new NanoLab cleanroom is open access.”

A livable campus

There’s still a lot to be done before anyone can use the lab, however. By working ahead and planning well, Van Schalkwijk hopes to meet the 2028 deadline. “We want to use prefabricated components, for example, and we already specified exactly what we want in terms of sustainability. The entire equipment list has also been completely worked out.”

Schellekens thinks that people will notice the construction work on campus once it starts. “A lot will be happening at the same time: the cleanroom, the lab building, and maybe part of Gemini South as well. We’re already thinking about accessibility, parking, and nuisance. Several project managers are already working on keeping the campus as livable as possible.”

Parking

The cleanroom will be built on the site of parking lot P6. Parking will no longer be possible there from the summer of 2026 onward. It’s not yet clear whether new parking spaces will be provided, says Schellekens. “We’re going to conduct a traffic study for that purpose. We’re aware that we’re eliminating parking spaces. But many people have moved from Gemini to Vector, so they should be parking there now. We’re not expecting any major problems in the short term. Things will become trickier in the construction and final phases. We’re now making plans for that, which should be ready by the end of this year.” By the way, there are still many parking spaces available on campus, Kessels adds. “Fenix has a very large parking lot. I’m already preparing myself for having to walk a little further, but I think there are more than enough spaces there.”