Opening of the Netherlands Plant Eco-phenotyping Centre (NPEC) facility in Utrecht

After a long period of careful preparing and construction, NPEC Utrecht kicks off this year. We are happy to announce that the NPEC facility at Utrecht University will be officially opened on 29 September 2023.

NPEC facilitates state-of-the-art measurement of plant phenotypes to support research on genotype-phenotype associations. Establishing these associations is critical for the development of novel climate-proof crops and cropping systems, essential to secure our future food production and improve the sustainability of agriculture.

NPEC is a joint initiative of Utrecht University and Wageningen University & Research and housed in two locations. In our brand new NPEC-dedicated building on the Utrecht University campus, Utrecht University will house the Ecotron, Multi-environment and Plant-microbe interactions modules. These modules allow researchers to simulate, experimentally manipulate and study plant responses to their dynamic environments.

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) was a co-funder of NPEC. NWO funded the construction of the NPEC facilities through a 11 million euro grant from the ‘Nationale Roadmap Grootschalige Wetenschappelijke Infrastructuur’. This Roadmap enables large-scale research facilities that contribute to innovation and solving major societal issues.

Programme

16.30 Welcome by George Kowalchuk and Corné Pieterse, Presentation of NPEC
17.00 Official opening ceremony
17.00-19.00 Drinks and guided tours to NPEC Utrecht