New facility to develop circular plastics on an industrial scale

Thema:: Brightlands Material Center; Circular plastics

28 November 2023

TNO has signed an agreement with Maastricht University and Brightlands Chemelot Campus to launch Brightlands Circular Space. This facility, located on Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Sittard-Geleen, will serve as an international hub for research into accelerated development of circular plastics from waste on an industrial scale. Here, science and industry will collaborate on reusing waste as a raw material for new products.

Brightlands Circular Space (1) — Signed agreement Brightlands Circular Space by: Ruud Bollen (dir UM Holding) Nick Bos (Executive Board UM), Astrid Boeijen (CEO BCC) and Henk Jan Vink (TNO).

Both the Netherlands and Europe want an economy by 2050 in which waste serves as much as possible as raw material for new products. Brightlands Circular Space, as part of the national Circular Plastics NL (CPNL) programme, will contribute to this by bringing all parts of the process and different parties together.

It thus offers tailor-made opportunities for testing and scaling up innovative recycling technologies and training talent. The three initiators contribute knowledge, resources and networks, together with industrial partners.

Fully circular demonstration facility

The facility will consist of several buildings on an area of over 4 ha. Those buildings will house all equipment and expertise for researching, developing, analysing and testing large-scale recycling of plastic waste. Examples include mechanical or chemical recycling, as well as for reprocessing, industrial design, and upscaling into new materials and products. In doing so, the three initiators contribute knowledge, resources and networks, together with industrial partners.

Investment for circular solutions

The National Growth Fund, through the CircularplasticsNL programme, has provided €25m for Brightlands Circular Space demonstration facilities. The founding partners are also jointly investing 25 mln euros. Brightlands Circular Space is expected to be operational by 2026.