Bio-Based Circular Growth Fund Program Can Commence

BioBased Circular aims to replace oil used in various plastics and materials with plant-based raw materials for applications including packaging, building materials, textiles, and coatings. The new materials will no longer come from the earth but from the field, the forest, recycling, or from residual streams of cultivation for food, for example. To make this possible, several hurdles still need to be overcome. BioBased Circular facilitates this through research, providing space for the development of ideas in incubators, and through scaling up production in demonstrators and in a large-scale flagship facility.

Circular Value Circles
A major challenge lies in organizing new industrial-scale production chains. The agri-food sector, forestry sector, and recycling companies will closely collaborate with the chemical manufacturing industry. This requires a new way of working and adjusted regulations. Full circularity is a prerequisite in the design of new products. Therefore, it is no longer referred to as value chains but as value circles. This approach prevents the emission of 1 to 2 megatons of CO2 and offers excellent economic prospects: BioBased Circular leads to new, green industries that structurally contribute to the growth of the Dutch economy, resulting in the emergence of a new industrial sector. Additionally, these developments also present important opportunities for export and international cooperation.

Announcements
 At a later stage, project proposals will initially be announced via the newsletters of TKI Agri & Food and Green Chemistry New Economy (GCNE). The first follow-up steps will be disclosed at the GCNE annual conference on November 7. 

The proposal has been submitted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate on behalf of the initiators. More than 125 companies and social organizations have expressed their support. This proposal involves a total of 858 million, of which 338 million is potentially supported by the National Growth Fund.