Friday 5 October ‘Behind the scenes’

The year 2018 is a very special year for VNCI: the association celebrates its 100th anniversary!  As part of this a number of “Behind the Scenes” events are organised in association with several chemical clusters in the Netherlands. On Friday 5 October it is the turn of Chemical Cluster Emmen (part of Chemport Europe). The strength of this cluster lies in (biobased) plastics chemistry. This is a branch of chemical industry which has a major impact on how we live, and which will become even more important and bigger in the years to come. It includes, for example, the development and production of polymers, composites, fibres and yarns that are used every day to manufacture all kinds of products, from coffee machines to car safety belts and from televisions to tablets.

Emmen: the place to be!

Chemical Cluster Emmen wants to use the VNCI “Behind the Scenes” event to show how, as a cluster in plastics chemistry, it deals with all kinds of developments in and around this industry.  This is a fascinating sector which has to make a complete overhaul to switch from fossil to biobased fuels. The Emmen cluster is already at an advanced stage in this respect and stands out in its approach. Cooperation is key in this process. Within that cooperation, businesses and knowledge institutions excel in terms of knowledge, innovation and research regarding plastics. It is not a coincidence that the cluster is Number 1 in Europe when it comes to specialised fibre chemistry, which is one of the reasons why it has been named the European demo-region for biobased green chemistry.

Innovation and sustainability

The subject of the programme on 5 October is innovation & sustainability. These two themes are synonymous and meet each other every day in Emmen. What is being developed here is cutting edge! Cycle paths and drawbridges from biocomposite, organic degradable horticultural twine, polyester without petroleum, biobased and circular plastics for the manufacturing industry, new recycling methods for carpets and PET bottles and the development of several new 3D printing methods. It’s already happening in Emmen! There is innovation, there are successful startups andscaleups, investments are made in knowledgeand together efforts are made to find solutions for the plastic soup, reducing CO2 emissions and meeting the Paris climate targets. In brief, Chemical Cluster Emmen is a beautiful example for Dutch chemistry, demonstrating how you can successfully change during a period of transition while increasing your added value.

Tomorrow’s world is in Emmen

During the VNCI Behind the Scenes event, Chemical Cluster Emmen will take the participants on a journey through the world of fibre chemistry. What can the cluster achieve, what are the solutions for the transition to the new economy and how does Chemical Cluster Emmen contribute to this? On the basis of a varied, modular programme of company visits, pitches and knowledge exchange, the participants will be given an impression of tomorrow’s world. That is a world of sustainable chemical industry, closed loop recycling, biobased raw materials and shared knowledge and innovation (and also machines). And that is possible – it’s already happening in Emmen!