Future of R&D in Belgium

Belgium has become one of Europe’s leading innovation hubs, thanks to a decade of strong research and development (R&D) investment. This joint report by AmCham Belgium and Deloitte explores Belgium’s R&D ecosystem, its important partnership with the United States, and the growing global competition that challenges its future growth. Despite Belgium’s high R&D intensity, structural challenges such as fragmented policies, high costs, talent shortages, and funding gaps put its competitive edge at risk. 

Key Highlights 

• Top 8 R&D-intensive sectors contribute 28% of Belgium’s GDP and employ 15% of the workforce. 
• US companies invested $2.7 billion in R&D in Belgium in 2023 and created over 120,000 jobs. 
• Belgium ranks second in Europe for R&D intensity but faces rising competition. 
• Challenges include policy fragmentation, high operational costs, and funding gaps. 
• Recommendations include a Belgian Innovation Gateway and a unified R&D incentive framework. 

Belgium’s innovation ecosystem stands at a critical juncture. While the country has built a strong foundation with world-class research capabilities and a vibrant transatlantic partnership, it now faces intensifying global competition and internal structural barriers that threaten its future growth. Fragmented policies and administrative complexity create uncertainty for investors, while high labor and energy costs challenge operational efficiency. Moreover, a significant funding gap limits the ability of promising innovations to scale and reach commercial maturity within Belgium. 

To maintain and enhance its position as a European innovation leader, Belgium must take decisive steps to unify and simplify its R&D framework. Establishing a Belgian Innovation Gateway will provide a streamlined, one-stop entry point for international investors, reducing complexity and improving coordination across federal and regional levels. Modernizing the R&D incentive system into a single coherent framework will increase transparency, reduce administrative burden, and better support companies throughout the innovation lifecycle, from early research to industrial scale-up.  

By addressing these challenges, Belgium can transform its fragmented strengths into a compelling, unified value proposition that attracts and retains high-value R&D investments. This will not only safeguard existing innovation hubs but also enable Belgium to capitalize on emerging technologies and sectors, securing sustainable economic growth and global competitiveness for the decade ahead. The full report offers detailed analysis, benchmarking, and actionable recommendations to guide policymakers, industry leaders, and stakeholders in realizing this vision.