14-06-2012

TNO joins the Green Chemistry Campus

The Green Chemistry Campus, the center of open chemical innovation in Southwest Netherlands has reached another milestone in the journey towards a prosperous biobased economy with the accession of TNO as a participant.

The goal of the Campus is the establishment of cooperation agreements between innovative companies in the fields of agro and chemistry, with a focus on the development of green building blocks for coatings, performance materials and performance chemicals.

“The entry of TNO is of great value for the innovative capabilities in the near future” according to Willem Sederel, chairman of the advisory committee of the Biobased Economy in West-Brabant. "The entry of a knowledge institution with that kind of reputation will allow us to enlarge and speed up the biobased developments, which will significantly contribute to the economy of Southwest- Netherlands."

Among the first projects in which TNO participates are: recycling of solvents, production of specific building blocks and the application of natural fibers. TNO will cooperate with companies from the agro-chemistry sector in order to develop a sustainable society. This is already happening on national and even European scale, however from now on special focus lies on the Southwest Delta being one of the most important hotspots for ‘Agro meets chemistry’ in Europe. Three TNO employees will be stationed at the campus and this number is likely to rise to 40, depending on the pace of the campus development. The expectation is that more knowledge institutions will join the campus in order to combine the innovation capabilities and make the transition to a biobased economy.

Green Chemistry Campus

Southwest-Netherlands is the place to be for biobased innovations in the Netherlands. A cluster of agro and chemical companies (for instance, SABIC, Cosun, Cargill, DOW, Yara, Nuplex, Lam Weston Meijer) has been present for years in that area and offers many possibilities for business development.

The Green Chemistry Campus, located at the SABIC plant, is a starting point and business accelerator. The Green Chemistry Campus offers all necessary facilities for the entire life cycle; from (pre)startup to full scale production. Due to the characteristics of the area, there is an abundant supply of agrarian residuals. Knowledge institutions are closely involved with the business development on the campus and several other projects.

TNO

TNO is an independent research institution which contributes significantly to the competitiveness of companies and organizations, the economy and the quality of the daily life, based on its expertise and research. TNO has established an unique position, due to its multi functionality and capability to adapt the acquired knowledge.

This acquisition has been made possible by the combined efforts of SABIC and the regional development agency N.V. REWIN West-Brabant.