Antwerp and diamonds have had a long history, the Belgian city has been at the heart of the global trade since the 15th century and even today over 80% of the world’s rough diamonds (those that haven’t yet been cut or polished) pass through its diamond district. Today however, it’s not a traditional industry we are focussing on, but another the Port of Antwerp is building its position as a global nexus for, the fast-emerging circular economy.
The Port is Europe’s second-largest seaport, handling over 200 million tons of freight a year with extensive facilities to handle and store all types of products and then move them on with rail, road and waterway links, so it’s perfectly placed to help overcome the bioeconomy’s challenges of scale and growth and supercharge it as we move into a new era of maturity and commercialisation. What the Port of Antwerp has launched is the NextGen District, a huge plot in the port, that aims to be a global hub for the bioeconomy in the heart of Europe offering space, support, connections and logistics to grow businesses of all size.
The team building the NextGen District has two pillars of the bioeconomy they are focussing on; the Process Industry, with companies producing molecules from sustainable biomass or from renewable or recyclable sources, or those involved with the production of raw materials or building blocks from recycled or waste flows and the Manufacturing Industry focussed on products or applications that contribute towards energy transition.
Source: Biomarket Insights
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