Rotterdam, 25th February 2026

Rotterdam, February 25, 2026 – Because startups are considered essential for the Port of Rotterdam, Platform Zero has been offering them—both literally and figuratively—the space they need since the end of last year. In the Sub Zero warehouse in the M4H area, startups can scale up and down in square meters and help each other move forward.

According to Mare Straetmans, there is no shortage of promising maritime startups. Together with his co-founder Auke Ferwerda, he founded Platform Zero to help these startups land and grow in Rotterdam’s M4H port area. Fresh blood is urgently needed in a sector that tends to preserve the status quo. However, finding suitable space is often a major challenge for startups.

“When scaling up, startups need not only money, people, and customers, but also space to test, produce, and develop,” Straetmans explains. “Their space requirements also fluctuate. One month they may need 1,000 square meters due to high activity, and the next month perhaps only 500. SubZero offers tenants that flexibility, and they can also learn from and benefit from each other.”

SubZero currently has 3,700 square meters available in the M4H area, including 1,000 square meters of office space. Like the tenant startups, Platform Zero is ambitious. Through collaborations with other players and with the help of subsidies, the goal is to grow those 3,700 square meters into 100,000 over time. And the ecosystem that is currently being built in Rotterdam is also being developed in other countries.

Landlord for startups

In the meantime, Platform Zero has also become a landlord for startups, with the added challenge that the amount of rented space can fluctuate significantly. This means balancing renting out as many square meters as possible while maintaining enough margin to continue offering flexibility.

“It is certainly a unique step. That’s why we expanded our team with people who have experience in this. I almost see it as a government activity, because we are facilitating an ecosystem. It’s not very common for companies to do that. But we care deeply about this. We think it’s fun, exciting, and highly relevant for the region. And we believe we can do it better as entrepreneurs,” Mare Straetmans explains.

“Fortunately, regional parties recognize the relevance of what we are doing, so we receive a lot of support. At the same time, we have to stand on our own financially. That’s why we’re so pleased that after just three months we already have five tenants. That’s truly unprecedented. And necessary, because if this place stands empty, it would quickly come to an end.”

Access to other startups

The first five tenants are Wattlabb, Everox, Solar Duck, Hymonic, and Compone.

With its technology to extract hydrogen from ammonia on-site, Hymonic aims to significantly reduce the cost of hydrogen use in shipping, industry, and transport. The company’s pilot plant is currently operating in Germany. Commercial production is the next step, from which Hymonic aims to further scale up and internationalize.

Founders Zachary Cesaro and Priya Gajadhar were immediately enthusiastic when they heard about Platform Zero’s plans to house startups in a way that best suits them.

Cesaro: “We now have even better access to an ecosystem of startups that have a lot in common—including challenges. It’s great to discuss those with each other, and that happens frequently. Additionally, through Platform Zero we have access to their network of potential customers and investors in Rotterdam, South Holland, and the rest of the Netherlands.”

A major step

Compone develops and manufactures products from recycled composite materials sourced from wind turbine blades, production waste, trains, ships, and aircraft, among others. New products are made from the mechanically recycled composite, such as bridge deck planks, retaining structures, poles, and sheet materials. About six months ago, Compone became one of the first Sub Zero tenants.

“We were looking for a production location that fits what we do,” explains Jochem Cuppen of Compone. “As a startup, you sometimes need a lot of space and at other times much less. It’s a big step to rent a hall of several thousand square meters for a long period. At SubZero, we can scale the surface area we rent up or down. There are also good energy facilities and other criteria important to us that most other locations cannot meet.”

Cuppen is therefore very satisfied with Compone’s presence at SubZero.

“We’ve been able to get production up and running. There is regular contact with the other companies building something here, which is both enjoyable and educational. More and more people are visiting the various SubZero startups, which also increases our visibility.”

Things can move fast

And SubZero’s growth does not stop with the first five tenants, Straetmans assures. There is room for more tenants and collaborations.

“At the official opening last November, we signed a memorandum of understanding with TNO and the Port of Rotterdam to establish a large field lab here focused on industrial electrification.”

Things can move quickly at SubZero—and according to Straetmans, they will. However, not everyone can or wants to move at that pace.

“We want to move very quickly, but certain processes simply take time, for example permits. So the delays mainly lie within the system. That’s why we also try to come up with systemic solutions.”

“Do we experience real resistance? Perhaps in the sense that there are still people who question how relevant startups really are, although that attitude is becoming increasingly hard to understand. ASML is actually the best example to explain why we want startups. One of the major challenges in Rotterdam is attracting more headquarters. A large company from Hong Kong will not simply move its headquarters to Rotterdam. But you can build new ASMLs here—and that is essentially what we are doing.”

Written by: Vincent Krabbendam, Schuttevaer

Interested in joining Sub Zero? Please contact: [email protected]