Brightsite and the coalition ‘Green chemistry, new economy’ have contributed to ‘Toekomst voor de industrie’ in Het Financieele Dagblad (FD) of 30 June. Two interesting articles about the transition of the chemical industry to renewable energy and raw materials. Arnold Stokking: “Chain collaboration is crucial, industries that have never worked together before, from agriculture to waste processing companies and high-tech industry, now have to start working together with chemistry to realize sustainability. The South of the Netherlands has everything it takes to make the manufacturing industry greener.”
Brightsite is working on a sustainable and competitive chemical industry
Brightsite is the knowledge center for realizing a sustainable and competitive chemical industry. The energy transition is in full swing and the chemical industry cannot ignore it either. Brightsite contributes to this by working on the application of technologies on an industrially relevant scale, necessary to achieve the climate objectives. Think of the sustainable production of hydrogen or the development of a new generation of electrical processes. By having knowledge institutions work with companies on the same programs and by drawing up and going through the roadmaps together.
“The chemical industry still makes large-scale use of fossil raw materials and energy carriers,” says Arnold Stokking, Managing Director Brightsite. “To convert these into renewable energy and raw materials, an ambitious and expensive transition is needed. The amount of fossil raw materials that must be replaced is enormous, innovations start on a relatively small scale and all processes must be operated with sustainable energy.”
‘From chasing volumes to system change’
Greening manufacturing chemistry is crucial for achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. With the large-scale deployment of innovations, sustainability can be accelerated and it is already possible in the south of the Netherlands to achieve a CO₂ emission reduction of forty million tons per year by 2050.
“The South of the Netherlands has everything it takes to make manufacturing chemistry greener,” says Arnold Stokking, Managing Director of Brightsite and chairman of the coalition ‘Green Chemistry, New Economy’. The action agenda to realize greening comprises 22 action points, mostly non-technological in nature, and grouped into three categories. Stokking: “Chain cooperation is crucial, but is not getting off the ground at the moment. Industries that have never worked together before, from agriculture to waste processing companies and high-tech industry, must now start working together with the chemical industry to realize sustainability.
Although interests and activities differ, there is a strong willingness to work together in all these sectors, which makes us very positive.” says Maxine Tillij, director of strategic analyzes and policy at TNO and strategist of ‘Green Chemistry, New Economy’. “We want to bring companies and financiers together. Oil and gas are cheap commodities. Although CO₂ emissions are priced, the CO₂ price is not yet high enough to make sustainable raw materials competitive. The coalition is committed to a better financing climate for start-ups and scale-ups in the climate transition.
