The Dutch Ministries of Infrastructure & Water Management and of Climate & Green Growth have recently published a draft national vision on sustainable carbon use in the chemical industry. This document outlines how the Dutch chemical sector can transition away from fossil feedstocks toward secondary raw materials, sustainable biobased sources, and CO₂, while identifying the key actions required to achieve this goal. Brightsite strongly believes in the need for “pilot value chains”—ecosystems where future circular and biobased value chains can be created, involving all relevant partners: from upstream to downstream, process industry to manufacturing, and ultimately, the end user.
However, real acceleration is only possible through supportive, green legislation—particularly for locations that are ready with concrete plans to host these circular chemistry pilots. Chemelot is such a location: with Chemelot Circular Hub as its overarching ambition, Brightlands Circular Space as its innovation ecosystem, and Brightsite as the systems house that designs targeted transition interventions.
Towards a Climate-Neutral and Circular Economy
Minimising the use of fossil feedstocks is essential in achieving a climate-neutral and circular economy. The draft vision on Sustainable Carbon Use in the Chemical Industry provides a first outlook on a Dutch carbon future based on renewable carbon, along with a roadmap to get there. It offers insights into the steps government, industry, and other stakeholders can take in the near term to advance the transition toward sustainable carbon chemistry. This vision is grounded in stakeholder consultations, independent expert input, and scenario studies. Public consultation was open until 30 May 2025.
Stokking: “The Netherlands must create regulatory space for experimentation—to prove scalability and efficiency of new industrial value chains.”
A National Vision that Supports the Strength of the Dutch Chemical Sector
The chemical industry is one of the Netherlands’ largest and most strategically important industrial sectors, with a robust infrastructure, tens of thousands of jobs, and a vast network of suppliers embedded in efficient value chains. Simply put: society cannot function without chemistry. (See Infographic 1 in Brightsite Transition Outlook (BTO) 2024 and the section ‘Carbon as a Key Building Block’.)
The Netherlands also holds an exceptional position in terms of knowledge and innovation—at companies, universities, and research institutes alike. This extends not only to current materials and processes but also to renewable carbon chemistry and the upscaling of breakthrough technologies. The country’s strong logistics within the ARRRA (Antwerp-Rotterdam-Rhine-Ruhr Area) cluster places the Dutch chemical sector in a leading position to drive the transition to circularity in Europe. By prioritising recycling, reuse, biobased feedstocks, and innovative, low-impact materials, Dutch chemistry can play a pivotal role in closing the carbon loop.
Carbon as a Key Building Block
Carbon (C) is an essential and highly versatile element. Through large-scale chemical processes, fossil feedstocks such as oil and gas are currently converted into a broad range of products used daily by consumers. When fuels are burned, the carbon is released as CO₂—the main contributor to climate change. This is why society is moving towards decarbonisation in energy: electric vehicles, green hydrogen, and renewable heating systems.
However, carbon in materials—such as plastics and rubbers—has no substitute. Yet these materials, when incinerated at end-of-life, also release CO₂. To truly protect the climate, that CO₂ must also be avoided. The solution lies in replacing fossil carbon in materials, not in eliminating the materials themselves.
In BTO 2023, Brightsite identifies three key sources of renewable carbon:
- Waste-based carbon: from consumer or industrial waste.
- Biobased carbon: from land- or ocean-based biomass, including waste streams.
- CO₂-based carbon: captured directly from the atmosphere.
These sources can be converted into carbon-containing products using modified or new technologies—making fossil oil redundant. Furthermore, smart use of biobased feedstocks enables the development of alternative materials that require less carbon and energy, such as biobased beverage bottles, compostable packaging, or biodegradable agricultural films.
Brightsite’s Systems Approach
In BTO 2024, Brightsite investigates the real-world transition to sustainable products: How much renewable feedstock is needed? Where will it come from? What are the impacts on society and daily life?
“The challenge is immense,” says Arnold Stokking, Managing Director of Brightsite. “This transition demands vast volumes of renewable energy and carbon—resources that currently remain limited. At Brightsite, we apply systems thinking to support the chemical industry’s transformation to a sustainable, circular economy. Systems thinking helps us understand complex interdependencies, simulate future pathways, and make informed decisions.”
Value chains in chemistry are inherently interconnected. They will only grow more complex as sectors such as agriculture, forestry, and retail become integrated into circular systems. Each new chemistry solution must be evaluated not only on technological viability, but also on systemic impact, scalability, resource availability, and long-term business value.
Van Haasteren: “We expect the national vision to catalyse our sustainability efforts. It could offer the stable, consistent framework needed for long-term planning.”
Scarcity as a Guiding Principle for Policy
Given the limited availability of renewable carbon sources, it is essential to prioritise high-value uses, efficient development, and sustainable application. Recycling is more than just reusing materials—it is a closed-loop “value circle.” The more effective recycling becomes, the less replacement carbon is needed.
To build these circles, all stakeholders—manufacturers, designers, brand owners, retailers—must align on product design, collection, recycling, and feedstock reintegration. This requires a new system. And such a system will only emerge with supportive policy and clear incentives.
Aligning Carbon Transition with the National Hydrogen Programme
A key application of systems thinking is in aligning the carbon and hydrogen transitions. Hydrogen is critical for many chemical processes and can be sustainably produced from water using green electricity. However, green hydrogen remains expensive and lacks infrastructure.
Chemical sites like Chemelot can also produce hydrogen from low-grade waste or biomass, replacing natural gas while capturing pure CO₂ for CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage). Hydrogen is not only essential for producing ammonia today but will also serve future syngas-based routes for sustainable chemicals. These pathways enable faster CO₂ reductions and represent a transitional step away from natural gas and eventually oil.
“The draft vision rightly highlights the importance of sustainable energy,” says Stokking, “but it must also emphasise the synergy between energy transition, the National Hydrogen Programme, the carbon transition, and biomass utilisation. Coordination is crucial.”
Stokking: “The Netherlands must create regulatory space for experimentation—to prove scalability and efficiency of new industrial value chains.”
Chemelot’s Role in the Transition
Chemelot is the largest integrated chemical cluster in the Netherlands and centrally located in the ARRRA region—the largest industrial cluster in Europe. Sustainability is high on its agenda.
“Our ambition is to become Europe’s first circular chemical and materials site by 2050,” states Koos van Haasteren, Executive Director of Chemelot. “We fully support the national ambition for sustainable carbon use and see the draft vision as confirmation of the path we’ve already taken. We hope it provides the stable, long-term policy framework needed to align investments and innovations.”
Still, challenges remain: operational costs, upscaling new technologies, collaborating with new partners, and investing in logistics and feedstock supply chains. Critically, the delayed development of energy infrastructure at Chemelot threatens to hinder progress.
“Thanks to our integrated infrastructure, innovation campus, and strong research presence,” Van Haasteren continues, “Chemelot is uniquely positioned to demonstrate green and novel chemistry at industrial scale. We are ready to serve as a pilot site—sharing knowledge, accelerating infrastructure, and helping realise the national vision.”
Brightsite Recommendations
Brightsite believes the draft vision will have a strong positive impact—if it leads to a stable long-term framework and supporting policies that enable implementation.
1. Diversification and Synergy
The future of chemistry depends on a mix of circular carbon sources and transitional hydrogen solutions. No single feedstock can meet total demand. Combining multiple streams—mechanical and chemical recycling, biobased feedstocks, CO₂ utilisation—will ensure supply security, flexibility, and cost-efficiency.
2. Energy and Feedstock Availability
Ample renewable energy and green molecules (e.g., hydrogen, ammonia, methanol) must be made available to industry. Given its partial reliance on imports, Dutch policy must support international trade in sustainable feedstocks under clear sustainability criteria.
3. Inclusive Value Chains
Circularity can only succeed if all links in the value and supply chains are aligned. Create “experimentation zones” for pilot chains—closed-loop value circles—where industry, government, and consumer-facing sectors jointly develop scalable, market-ready solutions.
4. Investment Climate and Policy Support
The transition requires massive innovation and commercial upscaling. Today’s conflicting regulations, lack of incentives, and uncertain returns hinder progress. A supportive investment climate and aligned, transition-friendly regulatory frameworks are urgently needed. This includes accelerated permitting for circular initiatives and harmonised legislation across environment, climate, and safety.
5. Governance and Collaboration
Clear governance is vital to coordinate transition pathways, resolve bottlenecks, and engage regional clusters. International collaboration within the ARRRA cluster and the EU is essential for harmonising infrastructure, regulation, and investments.
6. Infrastructure Development
Sustainable chemistry depends on infrastructure: for energy, hydrogen, CO₂, and circular feedstocks. Logistics (road, rail, inland shipping) must also be prepared to handle biomass and recyclates—on time.
7. Human Capital
Finally, a skilled workforce is crucial. Invest in technical education and reskilling to ensure enough qualified professionals are available to design, build, and operate the sustainable chemistry of tomorrow.
Van Haasteren: “Chemelot is uniquely positioned to demonstrate green and novel chemistry at industrial scale.”