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Chemical Cluster Emmen invests in green chemistry
The province of Drenthe, the municipality of Emmen and business network SUSPACC from Emmen signed a cooperation agreement to stimulate considerable growth in the activities in and around Chemical Cluster Emmen.
Green plastics, composites, fibres and yarns
“Drenthe, with its Chemical Cluster Emmen, is one of the top locations in Europe when it comes to the production of green plastics, composites, fibres and yarns. This is a unique position we want to keep and strengthen in the years to come,” says Henk Brink, member of the Provincial Executive. “By signing this agreement we show that we will actively work towards this goal in the coming period.”
Guido Rink: “As a new alderman in the municipality of Emmen, I have seen many developments in the SME sector in terms of green fibre chemistry since my appointment. What is striking is that businesses strengthen each other and are working together on new concepts. They look beyond their own interests and operate on the basis of a common starting point. For example, they recently jointly invested in an innovative research plant to test a revolutionary recycling method for polyesters.”
Business opportunities
The SME sector in Emmen has taken big steps over the past few years towards innovation and cooperation in green chemistry. Smart biobased applications have been developed, and new products are being made from recycled materials. The sector is cooperating intensively with knowledge institutes and authorities to accelerate innovation and pave the way for the international market. Drenthe and Emmen have even set up a special team for this purpose: the Green Chemistry Taskforce. And it is these developments in particular that offer opportunities for other businesses to establish themselves in the Emmen cluster.
A common goal
What is special about signing the agreement on Friday is that the business network SUSPACC is one of the signatories. Bart Labrie, CEO: “At SUSPACC we look after the shared interests of the SME sector at local, regional, national and international level. We also create partnerships between members and share knowledge. By signing the “Circular Economy and Green Chemistry 2019” programme together with the authorities, we show that we, as the SME sector, are not only actively involved in but also financially contribute to the goal of combining our efforts in the further development of an internationally orientated biobased and circular chemical cluster.”