NOORDWIJK – Noordwijk-based Scientific pre-incubator Wfront Principle got off to a running start this year with two separate grants that have been awarded recently. The Province of Zuid-Holland approved of a €100,000 subsidy while NLnet chipped in another €49,800.
Wfront Principle was launched in 2024 as a totally new way to create technology startups and bringing science closer to people and businesses. It focuses on the Physical sciences powered by AI: Precision Measurements and Space Technology.
Wfront provides independent scientists with funding for a year. The goal is to come up with innovative desktop tools that can either be open sourced or be brought to the market by start-ups. The boundaries are clear: one year, one cubic meter (max size), one prototype. Thus far two scientists have received funding for their projects.
Developing new prototypes
The funding of the Province of Zuid-Holland is meant for the installation of digital & AI tooling, the recruitment of new scientists, organizing events and workshops, and the open sourcing of new prototypes.
The NLnet grant is specifically aimed at the project of Dr. Ali Azadbakht, who started his research at Wfront in 2025. Dr. Azadbakht is currently in the designing phase of a fully open-source optical trapping microscope using 3D-printed parts, common electronics, and open software. His first milestone will be designing the core optomechanics.
A previously finished project at Wfront combined the latest advances in Quantum sensors and Astronomy to detect and track the faintest objects in space.
Democratizing science
Wfront Principle CEO Ignacio Reyes sees the grants as an affirmation of Wfront mission to ‘democratize science’. “This funding gives a huge boost to our efforts to make advanced and innovative tools accessible to educational institutions, citizen-scientists, and researchers worldwide. We thank the Province of Zuid-Holland and NLnet for their trust, and are looking forward to start making waves in the world of science.”
Meindert Stolk, Regional Minister for Economy and Innovation: “The strength of Zuid-Holland lies in the combination of space, science and innovation. Wfront Principle demonstrates how open science and digital tools enable young researchers to develop new applications. As a province, we are keen to support initiatives like this that bridge the gap between knowledge and practice.”
Wfront is operating out of the brand-new CometLab at NL Space Campus in Noordwijk.