European seed companies are worried about the future. The existing sector – particularly in the Netherlands, Germany and France – is founded upon plant breeders’ rights, but the patent system is gaining the upper hand. TTIP (the coming trade agreement … Read more
We all know the stories about DDT, fifty years ago – but did we learn from them? Not quite, says Ton Schoot Uiterkamp, a retired – but still very active – professor in environmental sciences at Groningen University. He has … Read more
North-western Europe has the best feedstock in the world for biobased industries, says Marc Verbruggen, NatureWorks’ CEO and largest PLA producer in the world. He could have added: also the largest sugar factories, the highest yields per hectare, outstanding research … Read more
Genetic modification is not a new technology. But a new tool, CRISPR, now elevates it to a much higher level. And op top of that, genetic modification is in the course of a rapid automation. This allows us to change … Read more
More than once, we devoted our attention to the negative impact of biofuels policy on the biobased chemical industry. New calculations by Nova Institute now show that in the bioeconomy, biobased chemicals production leads to much more employment than biofuel … Read more
Those who do not believe in the future, might be advised not to go there at all. All too often I have heard readers of our book ‘Groene Groei’ (Green Growth) tell us: ‘what you want cannot be done, much … Read more
Sorry, we publish this review of Dutch innovation policy in Dutch only.
Sorry, we publish the review of this book ‘Connecting Industries’ only in Dutch.
‘Companies that consider the construction of a factory for biobased bulk chemicals, will have to consider Europe. Some years ago, this was quite different. Nobody even considered the option of going to Europe; the United States, Brazil and Thailand were … Read more
‘Let a thousand flowers blossom,’ chairman Mao said long ago. This concept could be appropriate to the number and diversity of the unusual phenomenon of the Green Deal, a mechanism devised by the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs to ease … Read more
Biorefinery will come to the farm. On the basis of small-scale equipment that fits in a container; that allows farmers to create more value from their crops. The BioProductProcessor feeds on oily crops and a volume of well-sealed enzymes. It … Read more
If we could really succeed in establishing a sustainable production chain of concrete, it would be more effective and cheaper than solar and wind power. An example of the potential of green building for the environment and a sustainable society. … Read more
Roel Bol Sorry, we publish this review of the Biobased Economy team of the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs, headed by Roel Bol, in Dutch only.
It is tempting to compare them: Naomi Klein’s new book This Changes Everything on the disasters that threaten the old order, and our own book Green Growth (in Dutch) in which we highlight the new opportunities that a new order … Read more
Sorry, we publish this article in Dutch only.
Would there still be safe havens if the sea level starts rising as a result of the greenhouse effect? For the time being, people will be relatively safe in industrialised countries. Even in low-lying countries like the Netherlands, that will … Read more
The Italian blog Il Bioeconomista recently announced that the American biotech company Genomatica (San Diego) intends to develop enzymatic industrial pathways for the production of the chemical building blocks hexamethylenediamine, adipic acid and caprolactam. These compounds are drop-ins in the … Read more
At the conference where the report ‘Opportunities for the fermentation-based chemical industry’ was published, we also talked to Marcel Wubbolts, DSM’s CTO and president of BIC (the Biobased Industry Consortium). How long could the biobased transition for the chemical industry … Read more
This is going to be another story than told so far about the development of a green chemical industry in Europe. So far, the news was mostly negative: too little and too late in comparison to other continents. This is … Read more
Europe should develop a more practical vision on its future sustainable industry, says Dirk Carrez. ‘We do not have to stretch ourselves to be as sustainable and as cost-effective as possible from the outset. Let us take our time for … Read more
‘Socialise the risks and privatise the gains’ has been the reigning economic principle in the financial world in the past few years. Now such a mechanism also appears to be functioning in the much less murky innovation process. And here … Read more
Why on earth do we human beings have so much difficulty changing our thoughts – and our actions? For instance, change from a fossil economy to a green economy, from an inflexible hierarchical command society to a small-scale grass roots … Read more
There is a very strange body of regulation for biobased innovation subsidies. These rules seem to be exclusively intended to direct biomass and agricultural wastes to the energy sector, ignoring higher-value applications in green chemistry. Will that endanger further development … Read more
‘Frontrunners in horticulture should concentrate on fresh products that contain ingredients for a healthy diet and would be a remedy against diseases like cancer, obesity and diabetes2. The Netherlands have the best horticultural sector in the world, but misses an … Read more
The world needs a fantastic amount of knowledge, for its sustainable development, and in order to feed all new mouths. According to the OECD, we need to open three new universities every week of 30,000 students each, in order to … Read more
The Dutch Scientific and Technological Committee for the biobased economy (WTC) has published its second and last report. Elsewhere on this site, we will go into the committee’s recommendations, intended to turn the Netherlands into a green society. Here something … Read more
‘Cradle-to-cradle (C2C) shows some undesirable developments, in particular in the process of awarding certificates. C2C has become a business model, and the famous certificate promotes recycling and therefore discarding of products. Let us prefer products that last instead, products that … Read more
Sorry, we publish this column on Dutch innovation policy in Dutch only.
Coffee-roasting house Peeze in Arnhem introduced the first fair-trade and climate-neutral coffee on the market, last month. In the production chain of this fair-trade coffee, CO2 emissions are first reduced as much as possible; the remaining emissions are compensated by … Read more
Sorry, we publish this review of the Dutch Design Week in Dutch only.
New prospects in industrial biotechnology (processes, new products) developed in the lab will have to be tested at a relevant scale before they can be taken into commercial production. A test facility that imitates the production process at a semi-technical … Read more
In the Northern provinces of the Netherlands, Ron (son) and Hein (father) Aberson have been pioneering with rapeseed for ten years; they try to establish an autarkic cooperation. SOS, Solar Oil Systems, is the name of the company, based in … Read more
‘A mandatory percentage of biofuels in the national fuel mix does not make sense. In forces consumers onto a market they are not interested in. A mandatory blend is a relic from a centrally planned economy.’ Says Michiel Keyzer, an … Read more
Seaweed is on its way to become a serious hype, and a sustainable one. At the second international seaweed conference Seagriculture, in Den Helder and at the Wadden isle of Texel, the long red, green and brown strings even became … Read more
Whereas last year, EFIB was still under the aegis of high hopes on this new phenomenon, the biobased economy, this year in Brussels the main sentiment was ‘this is the time for Europe, otherwise others will take the lead’. There … Read more
The biobased economy is a practical matter: the efficient production of chemicals and materials from agricultural products and agricultural waste. But there is a lot of movement at the scientific rims of biotechnology as well: researchers try to get a … Read more
Sorry, we publish this article on Dutch innovation policy only in Dutch.
The European Parliament has decided. The share of biofuels in the fuel mix will be reduced from 10 to 6% in 2020. Is that disastrous or beneficial, on the contrary? And why? According to European figures, biofuels would contribute a … Read more
Just a month ago, on August 3rd, we wrote that the European sugar market will open up in 2017, and that in preparation for that event, Dutch farmers/cooperatives now already offer 2 million tons, at fixed contracts, as a feedstock … Read more
Synthetic and glass fibres have never completely substituted natural fibres. On the contrary, there is a growing interest for application of natural fibres in composite materials – biobased or not, biodegradable or not – and as an insulating construction material. … Read more
North-western Europe may become a feedstock supplier. Not a supplier of natural gas, but of sugar. A major opportunity for the chemical industry, and a possible breakthrough for the biobased economy. What has changed? North-western Europe has been producing sugar … Read more
Phosphorus is an essential element in the formation of vegetal and animal biomass. But whereas living organisms can use oxygen and nitrogen from the air for their processes, phosphorus is only available as a mineral, in the form of phosphate. … Read more
‘We passed the 400 ppm CO2 mark in the air this year, and it will not stop there. To put things into perspective: in 1960 we passed the 300 ppm level. What should we do now? Produce virtually CO2-free products. … Read more
‘Dutch government officials do not support any more the idea that the country has to invest in research. There are hardly any knowledgeable civil servants who have an idea of the importance of R&D. Political parties do not want to … Read more
Europe has the best feedstock for producing biopolymers, beet sugar, but instead aims at developing cellulosic crops. An example of Europe’s ineffectiveness. ‘A Southeast Asian delegation recently remarked to me: While Europe talks, we build,’ says Marc Verbruggen, CEO and … Read more
Stimulation of the biobased economy can be done in many ways. Even without subsidies. As a part of its innovation policy, the Dutch government in 2011 called into existence the Green Deals, an ‘intention agreement between government and society without … Read more
How does one draw public attention to the new, green economy? And the industry’s attention? The answer: call in the creative people, the industrial designers, the architects, the game and the fashion designers. In short, the people with creative ideas. … Read more
The far Northwest of the Groningen province is a rather unknown part of the Netherlands. Reitdiep, originating in Groningen town, there ends in the former Lauwerszee, called Lauwersmeer from 1969 onwards, when the sea was dammed. The 1953 floodings in … Read more
Once, Dutch Lagerwey wind turbines were the best and most innovative, but did that lead to a major wind turbine industry? No, that branch is in the hands of the Germans and Danes. And solar energy? The Netherlands were among … Read more
