The port of Antwerp is home to the world’s second largest petrochemical cluster. It is economically vital, but the industry also has a heavy environmental footprint. This needs to change, and the pre-incubator BlueApp will play an important role in this. With the support of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, the City of Antwerp, the Province of Antwerp and essenscia, among others, Antwerp University aims to develop BlueApp into a reference centre for sustainable chemistry. BlueApp’s building is equipped with labs for those disciplines involved in sustainable (bio)chemical processes for the production, treatment or analysis of (bio)materials, gases and liquids. On the one hand, the focus is on applied research in cooperation with industrial partners, and on the other on the development of products and processes which result in a license or investment agreement. There will also be one permanent research group in the building that will focus on process intensification of the (bio)chemical processes at a TRL level of 3 to 6. Collaboration with other research groups at the Antwerp University, but also with other (inter)national knowledge institutions will be key.
The site itself is symbolically located next to the BlueChem building in the Blue Gate Antwerp business park. BlueChem is Belgium’s first incubator for sustainable chemistry. It is also a location for start-ups and scale-ups.
By establishing BlueApp at the Blue Gate Antwerp business park, an unique innovation ecosystem in sustainable chemistry is growing that can help shape the future of both region and society. Hydrogen, for example, is an important link in the sustainable society because it can be injected into mobility applications, chemical processes and the natural gas network. Other examples of innovative and sustainable technologies in which the Antwerp University is at the forefront: new forms of process energy (electro-, plasma- and photocatalysis), in-line detection and measurement technologies, improved processing and recycling of gaseous, liquid and solid waste streams, sustainable and bio-based raw materials, CO2 as an alternative raw material, probiotics, advanced (nano) material characterization and modelling.
Source and photo credit Flows, Antwerp University
