18-12-2018
New demo facility Green Chemistry Campus festively opened
Bergen op Zoom, 18 December 2018 – Today, the new demo facility of the Green Chemistry Campus was officially opened. "An important milestone for the Campus and for the region", according to director Petra Koenders. "With this demo facility we enable companies to scale up their biobased innovations. Moreover, the building is one of the most sustainable demo areas in the Netherlands ".
Upscaling of the production of bio-aromatics
TNO and VITO from Flanders are going to scale up their research into the production of bio-aromatics from organic waste. This research is organized in Shared Research Center Biorizon, which has been based at the Green Chemistry Campus since 2013. Aromatics are one of the most important raw materials for the chemical industry with applications such as plastic, coatings, food and cosmetic products. At present, aromatics are extracted from petroleum and this leads to significant CO2 emissions.
Upscaling of the production of sulfur-free marine fuel, bio-pesticides and green gas
Nettenergy and Nimaro Ageno Consult, both established on the Campus since 2013, work together to upgrade the oil, wood vinegar and wood gas that come as raw products from the unique pyrolysis plant developed by Nettenergy. This installation runs on woody biomass. Nimaro Ageno Consult works on lab scale, while Nettenergy uses the new demo facility of the Campus to scale up the research. Targeted end products include sulfur-free marine fuel based on wood oil, biobased pesticides based on wood vinegar and green gas from wood gas.
Most sustainable demo facility in the Netherlands
The Campus wants to offer the most sustainable demo facility in the Netherlands. This criterium was an important requirement in the tender. For example, recycled doors and window frames plus various biobased materials have been used and a biobased light object can be found in the hall. This lamp is the result of a competition that the Campus organized this summer. The winning design by Van Cappelle & Kramer is an enlargement of a petri dish. This design lays the link to a laboratory, to organic material (pigment from Rubia 100% Natural Colours) and especially to growth. Suitable for a place where growth is experienced, by companies that take the step to scale up.
Green Chemistry Campus
At the Green Chemistry Campus in Bergen op Zoom, entrepreneurs, governments and knowledge institutes are working on scaling up new, sustainable materials and chemicals for the building materials and packaging industry. Renewable raw materials such as elephant grass, organic municipal waste and wood residues form the basis for this.
The campus offers access to not only facilities such as laboratories, a demo facility and office space, but also to support in the areas of financing, marketing and technology. Companies that establish themselves on the Campus have already proven that their idea for a biobased product works on a small scale. On the Campus they want to elaborate on this idea and prove that their product can also be produced on a larger scale with a constant quality.
Partners and initiators of the Green Chemistry Campus include the Province of Noord-Brabant, the municipality of Bergen op Zoom, SABIC and the regional development company NV REWIN West-Brabant. The Green Chemistry Campus is located on the SABIC site in Bergen op Zoom. Recently, the Campus was elected as the best public-private partnership of the year in a national contest.