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About us


Mastering complexity in cyber‑physical systems

TNO‑ESI helps industry design and engineer complex cyber‑physical systems with confidence. As an applied research center in systems engineering and systems architecting, we turn advanced insights into practical methods, tools and training that strengthen system performance, reliability and future‑readiness.

Modern systems are increasingly software‑intensive and interconnected. We help organizations bridge this complexity through an integrated ecosystem of expertise, engineering support, and competence development, co‑created with partners in high‑tech industry, but also in mobility, energy, infrastructure, defense and beyond.

From cutting‑edge research to practical engineering impact

We translate advanced systems engineering insights into methods, tools and train teams. Our solutions strengthen the performance and reliability of complex systems across sectors, from high‑tech to mobility, energy, infrastructure and defense

We work side‑by‑side with industry, government and academia to develop solutions that work in real engineering environments.

Growing complexity

Our goal is to advance high-tech systems technology and strengthen the industry’s ability to manage growing complexity. We achieve this through shared research programmes, targeted innovation support, competence development initiatives, and knowledge-sharing activities.

By turning cutting-edge insights such as model-driven engineering into practical solutions, we help transform fundamental knowledge into real-world impact for industry and society.

Our vision

A world-leading Dutch high-tech systems industry which creates consistent and increasingly positive economic impacts and societal value by constantly improving the effectiveness of their way of working.

Our mission

Embedding cutting-edge methodologies into the Dutch high-tech systems industry in order to cope with the ever-increasing complexity of their products.

History

Since our origins in 2002, when “embedded systems” was identified as a national priority for Dutch competitiveness, Systems Engineering has evolved into a strategic global discipline. Over the years, TNO‑ESI has helped shape this evolution by addressing challenges such as guaranteeing performance and reliability (“towards zero unscheduled downtime”), managing product diversity, integrating high‑tech equipment into larger systems, applying AI responsibly, updating safety‑critical systems, introducing model‑based methodologies, and supporting a labour market facing a shortage of specialised R&D talent.

The knowledge developed with our industrial partners, academic collaborators and international network is widely shared through the ESI Academy, our research programmes and our ecosystem of implementation partners. Our “industry‑as‑a‑lab” model, conducting research directly on‑site with our partners, remains unique and central to our impact, enabling breakthroughs grounded in real‑world industrial needs and deep mutual trust.