Bioplastics markets show a stable growth overall; but within them, the emphasis shifts to disruptive newcomers; so we learn from two reports issued last month. Synthetic biology (synbio) technologies are the great 2016 winner in the competition for biobased funding, … Read more
According to Piet Borst, a highly respected Dutch cancer researcher, those deserving to receive the Nobel Prize for the development of CRISPR-Cas technology, will not get it. With that he means the microbiologists who did the painstaking fundamental research and … Read more
Separation and purification are essential processes in the production of bio-based chemicals. This is challenging because bio-based compounds can only be manipulated under mild conditions. Scientists and engineers are trying to overcome these challenges and at the EFIB-event in Glasgow, … Read more
Synthetic Biology (SynBio) includes a large field of applications. Within this area biochemists combine engineering concepts and techniques with biology to design new genes that produce a specific protein. When this protein is an enzyme, bacteria and yeast in which … Read more
Vertical farming is making headway into modern cities. Fresh produce being a unique selling point for vegetables, we will see more production units coming close to the customer. Vertical production units to be sure, often in old buildings and LED … Read more
Wood contains cellulosic fibres, embedded in lignin and hemicellulose. Pure cellulose can be processed to a quality from which yarns can be spun. The most well-known of these products is viscose. The viscose process however involves the toxic and highly … Read more
Many biobased chemicals and biobased materials suffer from low fossil energy prices – but materials with new properties are still in demand. This was the general opinion at the 9th International Conference on Biobased Materials, organised by nova Institute and … Read more
Photanol, based in Amsterdam, has started tests in greenhouses at Bleiswijk (Nl), where cyanobacteria will produce fragrances and flavourings, and intermediates for the chemical industry, with no other feedstock than CO2 and sunlight. Dirk den Ouden, director at Photanol, gives … 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
In our interview with Rudy Rabbinge we also discussed the future of agriculture. Can it develop in such a way that it will keep on feeding the world even if its population would keep growing? And could it supply the … Read more
‘Plant ingredients are in the picture in industries: in the agrochemical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors,’ says Leon Mur, director of the Dutch Expertise Centre for Plant Ingredients (Kenniscentrum Plantenstoffen). For use in industry, the centre collected a ‘library’ of plant … Read more
A ‘disruptive technology’, that is what Elevance Renewable Sciences calls the metathesis reaction on which the company is built; never omitting the proud words ‘Nobel Prize winning’ (Chemistry, 2005). They use it to turn their feedstock, mainly palm oil (but … Read more
Public judgement surprises biotechnological researchers again and again. Sometimes it is surprisingly favourable, like in the case of the development of artemisinin, an anti-malarial drug, using modified organisms. Often it is unfavourable, like when public judgement was squarely negative on … Read more
At EFIB, last October, the most brilliant lecture – in my humble opinion – was delivered by Johanna Buchert, a Finnish professor who works at VTT, the Technical Research Centre of Finland. She showed the vast range of products that … Read more
‘As a company, we want to feed the world, save CO2, move to a greener and more biobased economy, improve lives. But we always want to remain innovation-based and bring innovation to the customer. In order to facilitate that, we … Read more
Pharmafilter is a Dutch company that has developed a new and sustainable system for processing hospital waste. It produces devices like bed-pans and urinals from a biobased and biodegradable plastic; these can be ground after single use, and processed in … 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
‘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
Entering the hall of the Dutch potato cooperative AVEBE, one’s attention is immediately drawn to a large pane of stained glass, showing all products once produced from the potato, one hundred years ago. Building and pane belonged to ScholtenHonig, later … Read more
The Bergen op Zoom region, in the Southwestern part of the Netherlands, is the centre of the new green economy – for those who did not know yet. They have it all: strong agrofood industries, a strong agricultural sector with … Read more
Willem Sederel, manager of the Biobased Delta, situated in the South-western part of the Netherlands, shows no doubt as he indicates the biobased economy as the prime development model for the future green industry. But he also says: ‘We are … Read more
Piezoelectricity is on the rise. Piezoelectric cells produce electricity from vibrations, or conversely vibrations from electricity. The former is relevant for energy harvesting, for our world increasingly needs the small powers that can be produced by piezoelectric generators – in … 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
A happy man, Barend Verachtert called himself, head of the unit Biotechnology of DG Research & Innovation of the European Commission. Friday 17 May 2013, at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, the administrative negotiations on the innovation program BRIDGE had … 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
Sorry, this column on Dutch innovation policy and biobased SMEs is only available in Dutch.
‘Americans act and deliver, Europeans doubt and talk.’ Says Steve Hartig, General Manager to POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels, the joint venture of the Dutch biotech company and the largest alcohol producer in the US. He is quite outspoken on the construction … Read more
Sorry, this column on Dutch innovation policy is only available in Dutch.
In our minds, Photanol is one of the potential winners among start-ups, the company owned by professors Joost Texeira de Mattos and Klaas Hellingwerf of the University of Amsterdam. Their ‘third generation’ company produces all kinds of chemicals, like lactic … Read more
Sorry, this article on Dutch innovation policy is only available in Dutch.
‘I expect artificial photosynthesis to be fully operational in 2050; by that time it will be the backbone of energy supply,’ says Huub de Groot, professor in biophysical organic chemistry at Leiden University. ‘We know from experience that a new … Read more
Whereas silicon wafer based PV technology keeps improving and production costs of PV electricity keeps falling, thin film PV is on its way to develop as a mass product as well. Most experts judge that thin film solar cells will … Read more
It was a wonderful reunion, Forty years of wind power in the Netherlands, organized by Chris Westra, the man whose self-built wind turbine in 1972 marked the beginning of an upsurge of sustainable energy. Many stories about the past forty … Read more
During advent, almost 50 tons of olivine sand will be dumped on stately Lange Voorhout in The Hague as a construction material for a crib. Olivine is a mineral rock which captures CO2. It would seem to be a ridiculous … Read more
It is just a small company, BioAmber, and it is quite young as well. Yet, is has concluded a large number of cooperation agreements, and many chemical companies are interested. The secret? BioAmber is the first company to offer biosuccinic … Read more
They were awarded many prizes for their innovative technology. New Zealand’s LanzaTech owns an entire fleet of bacteria, fit to process industrial waste gases and waste products directly into biofuels and chemical building blocks. Sean Simpson, the company’s CSO, highlights … Read more
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DSD BV (Dutch Sustainable Development BV) has made available online information about its Betaprocess, in Dutch, English, German and French. Betaprocess operates on the basis of vacuum extrusion, which rips apart biomass in a split second to a macromolecular level … Read more
Sorry, this column on Dutch innovation policy is only available in Dutch.
Carbon dioxide is the final product of the carbon cycle, either by biological processes or by incineration. It disappears into the atmosphere or is taken up in a new photosynthetic cycle. Its main economic uses are in oil recovery, beverages … Read more
‘Chinese concentrate in their research on four important areas: CO2-economy (of which artificial photosynthesis is a part), solar energy (PV), methanol, and artificial meat (proteins).’ According to Michael Carus, director, and Frabizio Sibilla, researcher at nova-Institut, at an Essen conference … Read more
Sorry, this blog on Dutch innovation policy is only available in Dutch.
The interesting thing about festivals like Springtij at Terschelling is, that out of the blue you run into people with a completely new line of thinking. Someone like Gunter Pauli, who invented the ‘Blue Economy’ concept, because the ‘Green Economy’ … Read more
The Austrian healthcare Biotech SME ProtAffin AG and the French Global Bioenergies are the joint winners of the Most Innovative Biotech SME Award 2012. EuropaBio names three other outstanding runners up: Green Biologics Ltd, from the UK, Promethera BioSciences from … Read more
Forty years ago I met Leo for the first time, and our paths kept crossing agreeably often. In the early seventies, Leo soon joined the Reflection Group on Energy Policy, founded by others and myself, as an MP for the … Read more
There is a big opportunity for the Dutch chemical industry beyond bulk products. A small country, with a strong agro-food sector and specialized technology, should aim to develop knowledge and higher-value products in the biobased economy. One of the first … Read more
Government should invest more in innovation in businesses, and less in fundamental scientific research. That is the shorthand notation for the new Dutch innovation policy, ‘top sector policy’. But this policy meets with difficulties, while financing research is increasingly unclear. … Read more
That is Nathalie Moll’s opinion, secretary-general to Europabio, the Brussels lobby branch of Europe’s biotechnological industry. Industrial biotechnology is growing fast, and is selected as one of six Key Enabling Technologies for a greener and more sustainable Europe. The European … Read more
Synbra Technology, an Etten-Leur (the Netherlands) based company which produces sustainable bioplastics, is small (90 employees); but as a part of Synbra Holding (26 branches throughout Europe) it is a big player. Synbra Holding in all its European branches produces … Read more
Just two years ago Tom van Aken, Avantium’s CEO, called its 2,5-furanic dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) a sleeping giant. But since Coca-Cola and other big players are putting bags of development money into the product, this giant is coming to life … Read more