Vertoro, located on Brightlands Chemelot Campus, is the first Limburg company to receive a subsidy from the European Just Transition Fund (JTF). It also receives co-financing from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. With the subsidy of €1.228.665, Vertoro will scale up the factory where bio-oil is made from biomass. It will also produce sustainable raw materials for the chemical industry on a large scale from this bio-oil. That is a big step forward in the greening of Chemelot.
Deputy Elianne Demollin-Schneiders looks with confidence at the sustainability of the Limburg chemical industry: “Making our economy more sustainable is a quest with many challenges that we will tackle together in the coming years. I am confident that we can do this in Limburg. As a Limburg resident, I am proud that today I am meeting the first consortium that is working on this challenge with the help of European money and, among other things, making it possible for Chemelot to switch to sustainable energy sources and raw materials. This JTF subsidy to Vertoro not only contributes to a better environment, but also to the jobs of the future!”
Pioneering technology
Michael Boots, co-founder and co-CEO of Vertoro explains how the process works in the factory. “The biomass we use comes from residual products from agriculture and forestry, such as sawdust. This includes lignin, which we convert into crude lignin oil using groundbreaking technology. This oil is already available as a sustainable fuel for shipping. That's actually a shame, because we can first extract some sustainable raw materials from this bio-oil for the chemical industry using innovative extraction methods.”
What can the chemical companies at Chemelot do with those raw materials? Boot: “For example, we can extract a vanilla-like molecule from our oil that chemical companies can use to make fragrances and flavors. We can also extract an antioxidant from our organic oil that can replace vitamins. Our molecules work the same, but are not identical to the fossil molecules that the chemical industry at Chemelot now uses. With the JTF subsidy, Vertoro will scale up production. An important step, because it makes it much more interesting for chemical companies to test these new bio raw materials.”
Green skills
Boot expects that the chemical companies at Chemelot will start working with the new biobased raw materials, even though this is a major transition. “These companies have to adapt their production processes, but they will have to do that anyway. Sustainable energy and sustainable raw materials are necessary for the survival of Chemelot and therefore the more than 8.000 jobs in the region.”
Vertoro will also work on modules for (re)training technical personnel, such as operators and process engineers. “We want to tackle the demographic decline and the tight labor market in the region,” Boot explains. “At the same time, training supports the smooth transition to biomass-based production. We develop the modules in such a way that they are also useful for students and share them with local educational institutions, such as Vista College, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, Maastricht University and Chemelot Talent Office.”
Just Transition Fund
To achieve a climate-neutral Europe by 2050, major changes are needed in energy use and reducing CO2 emissions. South Limburg is one of the designated regions in the Netherlands that receives European support to absorb the social and economic consequences of the transition from fossil to green industry. The region will receive a total of 58,5 million euros from the new Just Transition Fund(opens external website) (JTF), which was launched at the beginning of this year.
Source: Province of Limburg
