Transition to Circularity - first edition

On behalf of MNEXT , Willem van Liemt and myself visited the Transition to Circularity event, organized by Groene Chemie, Nieuwe Economie , BioBased Circular and Circular Plastics NL .

If you weren't one of the more than 500 (!) attendees, please enjoy our notes! There is of course much more to be said and reported but here are the things that struck us most:

?What?????????????????‘Transition to Circularity event’

Where??????????????? De Rijtuigenloods, Amersfoort

When? ?????????????? 7 november 2024, 11-1700 (borrel)

Why????? ?????????????matchmaking, knowledge exchange, inspiration

By who ????????????? BioBased Circular (BBC), Circular Plastics Nl (CPNL) and platform Groene Chemie Nieuwe Economie (GCNE)

For who???????????? more than 500 participants!

Knowledge institutes (16%), SMEs (15%), start-ups en scale-ups (13%). ‘Large’ companies (12%), consultants (12%) , government/policy (9%), investors (7%), (trade) associations (7%) and others

Reporting???????? Martijn Zieverink and Willem van Liemt, Research Group Biobased Transitions, MNEXT. Avans University of Applied Science

?‘Circularity should not mean that we keep running in circles’ - (Rinke Zonneveld)

Summary

Transition to Cirularity was organized by two initiatives financed by the National Growth Fund (now defunct): Biobased Circular (BBC) and Circular Plastics Nl (CPNL), and also the platform Green Chemistry New Economy (GCNE)

• Biobased Circular (BBC) demonstrating value circles for carbohydrate based (=new) polymers. Represented by Herman Wories
• Circular Plastic NL (CPNL) closing the circle for 5 existing materials: polyolefins, PET, styrene based materials, PUR and rubber. Also: develop new materials, ‘recyclable by design’. Represented by Marc Spekreijse
• Groene Chemie Nieuwe Economie (GCNE) Scaling up of innovations in the area of biobased raw materials, recycling and process electrification. Represented by Arnold Stokking

Meeting consisted of plenary sessions and breakout sessions, full agenda can be found here.

Declared objectives:? 1) Discover the latest developments in technologies and materials 2) Find funding and subsidy sources 3) Meet game changers, chain partners, and financiers

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On the failure of plastic recycling

During the course of the day no less than 4 entrepreneurs spoke out about their recycling business being close to failing. There is still a lack of decent and coherent regulations, and little market for their products because the (virgin fossil) alternatives are still way to cheap.

There is a real danger that the Dutch recycling industry will go under before new EU regulation becomes in force in 2027 (still a big if). Judging by the sometimes emotional remarks that Karlo van Dam (directeur Verduurzaming Industrie van het Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat) received, members of the audience were not impressed by the efforts of the government. Premature Dutch regulation forcing the use of reyclate in products for the Dutch market only poses another hurdle for entrepreneurs who are now already serving the whole EU.

Marc Spekreijse: ‘recyclen moet weer gaan lonen!’

End of Waste

GCNE is heavily involved in pushing this topic. However also here it is recognized that regulation needs to be at EU level, not just Dutch or Belgian/Flanders or…

Stop treating everything a priori as waste: ‘anything can be a feedstock, unless…’ (Arnold Stokking)

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On renewable feedstock

A less than convincing presentation by Sjoukje Heimovaara, President of the Executive Board of Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Although she is right in saying that small changes in consumer behaviour would make large tracts of land available, she is way too optimistic in assuming that we could feed Dutch industry using Dutch agricultural (by)products.

Also the old saw that we should use the functionality of the existing molecules more, ‘there is so much oxygen so make more polyesters’. If only it where that easy!

Giving farmers a new outlook and means of existence by producing (raw) materials for the building and chemical industry is great! But as long as we don’t make the same mistakes as before: monoculture, dependence on fossil fertilizer and ‘scale as a model’. You know, some of the things that WUR has developed over the years.

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‘Those who weren’t there’

The ‘existing chemical industry’ was hardly represented: a dozen companies and less than twenty attendees. VNCI was there with only two (?) employees, also: BASF, Neste, Sabic, Shell, Trinseo, Braskem, Nouryon, Indorama, Covestro, Ineos, Fibrant. In comparison, TNO alone was there with no less than 24 participants…

One gets the impression that the sense of urgency and/or need is simply not felt yet by the corporates.

Also conspicuously absent were Corporate Brand Owners, companies that have the capacity to create huge pull if only they wanted to. Also here not a lot of urgency perhaps?

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Any other business

• Excellent location as close to the train station as anything! Why do people still come by car to these things I don’t know…
• Lunch was good, vegetarian ‘broodjes’ and ditto soup
• good old fashioned filter coffee
• Drinks afterwards: we could smell the bitterballen but never saw them
• Meike de Jong kudos on doing a masterful job managing the day!
• Save the date: 30 October 2025 for the second edition!