Limburg leading the way in future of circular bio-based economy

Source B, the partnership of government, education and entrepreneurs aimed at strengthening the region in the biobased economy, is taking stock of its 5-year anniversary. And the results are favourable: Limburg is a leader in the circular, bio-based economy of the future. The favorable bio-based ecosystem has six important elements.

The Golden 6

1. One of the largest chemical industrial complexes in Europe
2. A strong agricultural and horticultural sector
3. A large (agro)logistics complex
4. Colleges of knowledge of international excellence
5. A strong entrepreneurial mentality
6. Active support from the province, formed the basis for Limburg's green ecosystem.

Biomass

More than one hundred projects are running in Limburg to extract biomass from, for example, agrobiotics, residual flows from agro and manure. The aim is to use this biomass to generate bioenergy and develop biochemicals and biopharmaceuticals. Collaboration is the key concept here. With the four Brightlands campuses, knowledge and skills are deployed across sectors. The Chemelot campus, the Greenport Venlo campus, the Smart Services campus and the Health campus link more than 200 companies and over 8,000 students in order to maximize the innovative power of all participating parties.

Plants for Plants

An example of an innovation project is Plants for Plants. This focuses on the cultivation of crops such as sorghum or Andean Lupine that have a sustainability effect on the soil by being deep-rooted, drought-resistant or highly resistant to pests. Thus, marginal soils can be made suitable as agricultural land.
Primary goal is food production, but with emphasis on fourfold value addition: all parts of the plant for e.g. fibers, contents and energy are utilized. Important objectives in this project are the establishment of biocircular chains, business cases and earning models, the cooperation between initiatives and South Netherlands regions and knowledge dissemination.

Education

Education plays an important role in the biobased economy. On the one hand, they provide well-trained professionals and researchers in the labor market, and on the other hand, the institutions support entrepreneurs with knowledge and innovation.
For example, the HAS has a minor in Biobased Economy, which is part of the Environmental Sciences course. But students of other courses, such as horticulture and arable farming or food technology also find the minor attractive. Third year students work for ten weeks on topics related to the biobased economy, focusing on the agro and food sector. This may involve, for example, investigating the feasibility of using certain residual flows from the agro sector in other sectors and products.

For more information on Limburg's bio-based economy and the opportunities it offers, check out the Source B 5 Years of Agro & Chemistry special.

Source: Agro & Chemistry