The project EMPHATI can get started after allocation of an Interreg grant VIA of 1,87 million euro on Tuesday 20 December. Interreg is a is one of the key instruments of the European Union (EU) supporting cooperation across borders through project funding. In the EMPHATI project, Dutch and German companies and knowledge institutions work together on the development of new, sustainable and environmentally friendly products based on PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoates). PHAs are naturally occurring polymers that are biodegradable. Therefore, they are a promising and sustainable alternative for fossil plastics based on oil. As a partner in this project, the BIO Cooperative acts as a bridge towards the broader plastics industry in the Northern Netherlands.
Cor Kamminga, chair of the BIO Cooperative is pleased with the allocation of the grant: “This grant enables researching how we can utilize PHA, that is biodegradable, better and more often as an economically attractive alternative for oil based plastics. We establish a transnational business cluster concerning the PHA value chain in this project. In this consortium, Dutch and German companies and knowledge institutes collaborate on PHA applications. Joint research, knowledge transfer and PHA production of course serves this cause. Consequently, we foresee a large economic impact and employment in the Northern Netherlands.”
The grant for the EMPATHI-project is the second in short time: on Thursday 8 December 2022, the grant application of the Biotech Talent Unlocked-project has been awarded.
"We foresee a large economic impact and employment in the Northern Netherlands”
Scope for new initiatives
The project partners in the EMPHATI project are: 3N Kompetenzzentrum e.V., Ecoras, bekuplast GmbH, TKT Kunststoff-Technik GmbH, H&P Moulding Emmen B.V., IST Ficotex e.K., Hochschule Bremen, NHL Stenden, BINDER 3D B.V., Avans Hogeschool, Hanzehogeschool Groningen, Netzwerk Oberfläche NRW e.V.. Kamminga: “The BIO Cooperative is responsible for the so-called ‘open section’ in the EMPAHTI project. In this part there is room to develop and support new initiatives. This open section is accessible to parties who are active in the whole value chain of PHA: from production to implementation.”
Sustainable alternative
In the Netherlands, as worldwide, the aim is to replace fossil plastics by biobased and biodegradable materials. The polymer family of PHAs is particularly promising because of their large structural diversity (monomers, homopolymers, random and block copolymers, functional and graft polymers), which allows for products with a wide range in properties. Moreover, PHAs are degradable in natural environments, also in water. In this project the aim is to lower the production costs amongst other by incorporating natural fiber. The potential of PHAs is large and the grant fort his EMPHATI-project allows the project partners to realize these possibilities.
Planning
The start of the EMPHATI project is scheduled in the first quarter of 2023. The funding runs until the year 2025. The first results are expected in the third quarter of 2023.
The BIO Cooperative is the independent collaboration of SMEs in the bio economy of the Northern Netherlands. The cooperative has been established in 2016 and represents 17 members. Aim of the cooperative is knowledge sharing, the realisation of cost reduction and increased turnover for her members. Together with its members, the BIO Cooperative strives to embed substantive issues in the bio economy regionally and to provide economic impact and employment.
