From Sowing to Harvesting

18-01-2024

The platform Green Chemistry, New Economy (GCNE) is at the forefront of the transition in manufacturing chemistry. After its launch in 2022, we received approval for the Biobased Circular growth fund plan in 2023, along with funding for our program for the coming years from the participating provinces. We are moving forward with full force on the themes of financing, policy, and value chain formation with our participants, says Arnold Stokking, chairman of GCNE.

It turns out time and again that technological innovation alone is not sufficient to achieve the necessary scaling and realization of green installations for the transition. It also turns out that innovations and developments occur locally in the regions, often with regional support. With GCNE, we focus precisely on that: with the networks of the regional clusters, we determine the conditions that need improvement (policy), working with entrepreneurs from the region to enhance their chances of financing for the next scaling phase of their enterprises. We connect the regions and entrepreneurs with national parties, ministries, and private and public financiers. GCNE also stimulates the work of the Growth Funds that are active in the raw material transition, such as BioBased Circular and Circular Plastics. Consortia are formed there, and resources are allocated to realize value circles. Thus, everything is interconnected based on the plans and opportunities of entrepreneurs. 

We face significant issues that we do not shy away from. For instance, we present concrete solution pathways to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management for the complex issue of End-of-Waste status, a stubborn topic that hinders circularity. We call on the ministries and financial institutions to organize a 1 billion euro fund aimed at new enterprises for the greening of chemistry. Currently, there is too little money available in the market for this segment. Renewable raw materials must compete on a level playing field, both relative to fossil sources and in terms of use for materials versus application as fuel. If this does not happen, circularity for our everyday products will not get off the ground. Hence, we are very pleased from GCNE that the growth fund proposal Biobased Circular has been approved. With our program 'From Sowing to Harvesting,' we have received financing from the provinces of Zeeland, North Brabant, Limburg, South Holland, and Groningen/Friesland/Drenthe and Invest-NL to proceed with our approach from 2024 to 2026, together with all known and of course new partners, startups, and scale-ups.

If this transition agenda and our approach resonate with you, please take a look at our participant model here and engage in the conversation!