The (green) chemistry sector of the Northern Netherlands

In 2017, Chemport Europe launched- which includes a cluster in Emmen (Drenthe), and a cluster in Delfzijl (Groningen). Chemport describes itself as ‘an ecosystem in which companies that are committed to developing a greener chemical sector can flourish’, and so far the organisation and its members have successfully worked on converting biomass to produce PEF polymers (used in all manner of consumer products), bio-based polymers such as PHA- meaning that cups can be produced from sustainable sources, and sustainable filaments for 3D printing.

The Delfzijl cluster, located on the Wadden Sea coast and in one of the Netherlands best-connected port cities, focuses on the salt-based chemical industry and producing speciality chemicals such as chlorine (it is one of only two such places in the Netherlands to do this). In the future, it will be moving focus towards green and CO2 chemistry. Emmen’s cluster is more focussed on creating plastics and polymers, as well as creating more bio-degradable consumer products, and cleaning the plastic producing industry.

Crops such as potatoes, sugar beet and wheat are vital for creating the various chemicals and products that are used in the Green Chemistry sector- and the Dutch agricultural sector has hugely high yields compared to other countries. This is emblematic of the ‘circular economy’ that the Northern Netherlands strives for: so, raw materials come from across the North, intermediate chemicals come from Delfzijl, and they can then be used in the polymer and fibre industry in Emmen. Circular!

The Green Chemistry sector of the Northern Netherlands also has significant input from the world-renowned knowledge institutions in the region. The University of Groningen and various universities of applied sciences are heavily involved in new methods put into practice at Chemport Europe. One of the major institutions fostering this co-working is Campus Groningen, which works on more than one innovative Northern Dutch sector, but particularly supports the efforts of research institutions such as the Green Chemical Reaction Engineering Group at the University of Groningen, or the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials and Stratingh Institute for Chemistry. Of course, the University is best known for its contributions to molecular chemistry that earned the lead scientist Ben Ferringa a Nobel Prize. What is unique about the Northern Netherlands is the tripartite way that organisations such as Campus Groningen are brought into existence- through co-investment and development by such organisations as the University of Groningen, Hanzehogeschool Groningen, UMCG; Municipality of Groningen, Bedrijvenvereniging WEST, and the Province of Groningen. Chemport Europe, as a further example, is a collaboration (in Dutch: ‘samenwerking’) between the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe, Campus Groningen itself, BERNN (which focuses on the Bio Economy of the region); EMMTEC Services, Groningen Seaports; and the NOM.