Port of Antwerp launches competition with OVAM to promote circular economy in port area

Port of Antwerp launches competition with OVAM to promote circular economy in port area

Ports, as logistics and industrial hubs, can play a major role in the transition to a circular economy. To stimulate the closing of material cycles in and around the Port of Antwerp, Port of Antwerp is therefore launching today, together with the Flemish Public Waste Agency (OVAM), the experts of the Flemish Symbioseteam, VITO and essenscia, a project call in the framework of industrial symbiosis. Through the participation process with the above-mentioned partners, for which an amount of 100,000 euros is made available, the two winning projects will have the opportunity to be further rolled out.

Call for projects in the context of industrial symbiosis

What is a waste stream for one company may be a valuable raw material for another. For the transition to a circular economy, Port of Antwerp is committed to the transition to renewable energy and raw materials and to closing cycles so that residual flows are given a second life and are reused or recycled. Industrial symbiosis is a form of mediation to bring companies together in an innovative collaboration and find ways to use the waste of one as a raw material for the other. This is the starting point of the project call launched today by Port of Antwerp, together with OVAM, the experts of the Flemish Symbiosis Team, VITO and essenscia, the sector federation of chemistry and life sciences.

Participation process

Participants in the competition take up the challenge of presenting their symbiosis project in which at least two different companies exchange materials and thereby make a significant contribution to the circular economy in and around the port of Antwerp. Port of Antwerp is looking for real business cases that have a chance of success and just need this push. The open call runs from today, September 30, until January 6, 2022. After a selection process, the jury will compile a top five, from which the two winning projects will ultimately be chosen in early February 2022. The jury will evaluate the entries based on multiple criteria including environmental impact, scalability, innovative nature and the potential to lead to a real investment that helps Flanders reduce residual waste.

Port of Antwerp will provide 50,000 euros per winner to analyze and test the symbiosis opportunities on the company floor through a participatory process supported by the partners. The ultimate goal is to enable the companies involved to take the next step towards the roll-out of industrial symbiosis at company level after the completion of this trajectory.

Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO Port of Antwerp: “Port of Antwerp is taking the lead in the transition to a cleaner, climate-friendly world that relies on more renewable and circular raw materials. This collaboration between OVAM and Port of Antwerp is based on our shared ambition to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. We want to go a step further to help companies in the port area in the transition from linear to circular operations.”

Port Alderman Annick De Ridder: “As a world port, we want to play a pioneering role in the development of renewable energy and the transition to a circular economy, both within our own organization, on the port platform and beyond. With this competition we therefore want to give a push to innovative projects and ideas together with our partners OVAM, VITO, essenscia and the Flemish Symbiosis Team.”