National Growth Fund Supports Development of Circular Production Chains
30-06-2023
With the conditional approval of BioBased Circular by the National Growth Fund, the Netherlands is making a significant step towards the use of climate-neutral materials. Over the next eight years, new production chains will be developed for packaging, construction materials, textiles, and coatings, among others. The products will be able to compete with current alternatives, but with one major difference: they will replace fossil carbon compounds with plant-based ones. The result will be a natural materials cycle that is CO2 neutral, inexhaustible, and holds strong international economic potential.
Within BioBased Circular, fossil raw materials are replaced by plant-based ones. Instead of extracting fossil resources from the earth, they will soon come from the fields, the forest, recycling, or from residual streams of cultivation for, for example, food. To make this possible, several technological hurdles still need to be overcome. BioBased Circular facilitates this research and provides room for the development of ideas in incubators, demonstrators, and in a large-scale flagship installation.
Circular Value Circles
A major challenge lies in organizing new production chains on an industrial scale. The agrifood sector, the forestry sector, and recycling companies will closely collaborate with the chemical manufacturing industry. This requires a new way of working and adjusted regulations. Complete circularity is a prerequisite in the design of new products. Therefore, we no longer speak of production chains but of value circles. These store CO2 from the atmosphere in materials for a longer duration. This could reduce national CO2 emissions by 3 to 5 million tons, corresponding to one third of the total annual emissions of the Dutch chemical industry. The economic prospects are also promising. BioBased Circular leads to new, green industries that structurally contribute to the growth of the Dutch economy. Furthermore, these developments also offer significant opportunities abroad.
Dutch Advantages
The first phase of BioBased Circular has been conditionally awarded funding from the National Growth Fund, and a reservation has been made for the second phase. The initiators, TKI Agri & Food and the Green Chemistry, New Economy platform, are enthusiastic about this outcome, see the conditions as reasonable, and are convinced that these can be met in the short term. Arnold Stokking (Green Chemistry, New Economy): “With this impetus, we can establish a new circular industry that is good for our climate and our economy.” Kees de Gooijer (TKI Agri & Food): “The Netherlands is exceptionally suited for the transition from fossil to biobased, with a super-efficient agrifood sector, a strong chemical sector, and an extensive scientific infrastructure. It's great that the Growth Fund Committee acknowledges this.”
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. The proposal involves a total of 858 million euros, of which 338 million could potentially be funded from the National Growth Fund.
Read more here about the approach and background.