BlueChem focuses on the effective use of waste and side streams
“Chemistry incubator BlueChem focuses on the effective use of waste and side streams”
September 2017
Interview with Frank Beckx in Mblad
The first applicants for a place at Blue Gate Antwerp have confirmed. BlueChem, the future incubator for sustainable chemistry, has also chosen the new top location.
Antwerp is home to the largest chemical cluster in Europe. Blue Gate Antwerp was thus a logical choice for BlueChem. “BlueChem will become a breeding ground for innovative ideas in chemistry. The incubator brings together start-ups, SMEs and large companies and provides them with the knowledge and infrastructure to develop ideas,” says Frank Beckx, Managing Director of chemical federation essenscia vlaanderen and Chairman of BlueChem. “This is necessary, because the development of an idea for a chemical process requires time and money. It often takes a long time before an idea can be put to effective use. We want to accelerate that process.”
BlueChem will make offices and labs available and bring users into contact with knowledge partners and potential investors. Candidates can also count on the expertise and network of Catalisti, the spearhead cluster for chemistry and plastics.
Frank Beckx: “The main theme of the incubator will be the effective use of waste and side flows as a pioneer of the circular economy. Another focus area is the search for alternative sustainable raw materials, such as algae and biomass.”
“The main theme of the incubator will be the effective use of waste and side flows as a pioneer in the circular economy”
– Frank Beckx (BlueChem)
BlueChem is a public-private partnership between the chemical federation essenscia, developers DEC and Bopro, the city of Antwerp, the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), the Provincial Development Agency (POM) Antwerp, the Participation Company Flanders (PMV) and the Autonomous Municipal Company for Real Estate and City Projects in Antwerp (AG Vespa). The project will receive €3.4 million from the European ERDF programme and around €860,000 from the Flemish Hermes Fund. The incubator should be operational by 2020.