In the Netherlands, many people work passionately with biomass as a raw material. They work on innovations, improve (production) processes or create policy for a fossil-free future. In this mini-series we highlight what drives them to work on the transition to a sustainable world.
In the world of sustainable technologies, it is not only the innovations that make an impression, but especially the people behind them. Two of those people are Cees van Loon and Hans van Klink, the founders of Dutch Sustainable Development (DSD) and later also involved in Innovative Sustainable Technologies. In a sector that is often dominated by young start-ups, these 'pensionados' prove that experience, perseverance and idealism are at least as important as innovation.
The roots of the mission
Cees van Loon describes himself as a child of the sixties: passionate, idealistic and looking for solutions to world problems such as hunger. His study of Tropical Plant Breeding in Wageningen did not ultimately bring him to the tropics, but to a deep-rooted mission: contributing to a fairer, more sustainable world. “I found it very sad to see how people in Peru preferred to live in the slums than to be self-sufficient in the countryside. That gave me a different view of poverty and distribution,” says Cees.
Hans van Klink started his career in the seed and food processing industry, but he only really felt free when he founded DSD in 2006 together with former colleagues. Their involvement in the so-called Betaprocess, a technology for liquefying wet biomass such as sugar beets, gave rise to the idea of producing bio-ethanol in a low-energy way as a basis for greening the chemical industry.
Biomass as the key to green chemistry
What started as an attempt to improve the biogas market grew into a much broader vision: sugar beets as a source of industrially usable sugars. “Sugar beets naturally produce simple sugars, glucose and fructose, which makes them a much more efficient feedstock than, for example, corn or grain,” Cees explains. “Where other crops put a lot of energy into long carbon chains that you have to break down again, sugar beets give you what you need right away.”
The team worked with Wageningen University & Research to scale up the technology from lab scale to a 8 cubic meter pilot plant. They are now working on a demo plant with an 2000 ton input per hour capacity, large enough to take the next step: a first-of-a-kind plant with a capacity of XNUMX tons per day.
Perseverance as a common thread
The journey to this factory is a long one. “We have had periods in which people said: 'You are peddling windmills',” says Hans. “But then you continue anyway, because you believe in what you are doing.” That belief goes hand in hand with a large dose of realism. “If something works technically, that does not mean that it is economically profitable. And it does not mean that you immediately have market acceptance.”
Investors are cautious, especially as long as sugar beets are still seen as 'first generation' biomass and therefore fall outside many subsidies and financing frameworks. But that is slowly changing. "We are in talks with Dutch ministries and European institutions. The first signals are positive," says Hans hopefully.
Local impact, global potential
One of the most powerful aspects of the technology is its scalability and minimal energy consumption. Unlike traditional sugar factories, which process 30.000 tons per day, Cees and Hans’ biorefinery is already profitable at a fifteenth of that. “That means you can operate locally, with beets from nearby. Less transport, lower costs, and above all: more employment in the countryside.”
The environmental benefits are impressive: one hectare of sugar beets can absorb up to 40 tons of CO2 annually. The Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) is even lower than that of cane sugar, corn and grains. And perhaps even more importantly: this greening of chemistry is feasible without increasing the world food problem. “For 3% of the global arable area, you can already green a large part of the chemistry. That is feasible.”
Learning by doing
An important insight is that biomass reacts differently than synthetic chemicals. “What you do in a lab with a liter, doesn’t necessarily work the same in a 300 cubic meter barrel,” says Cees. “That’s why scaling up is essential. And that’s why you have to accept that things go wrong every now and then. But you learn how to do it better.”
Motivation from the heart
What drives Cees and Hans is not money, they emphasize repeatedly, but idealism. “I am a proud father of two sons and four grandchildren. I want them to end up in a world that grandpa has contributed to,” says Cees. Hans adds: “We have been talking about greening the chemical industry for years, but it really has to happen now.”
And that enthusiasm is not limited to the Netherlands. The gentlemen also see great opportunities in other areas, such as elsewhere in the EU and also the Ukraine. "There are millions of hectares of fertile land there. If we succeed here, we can make a flying start there."
A call to new pioneers
Cees and Hans have a clear message for people considering working with bio-based raw materials: be realistic, but don't give up. "Don't confuse research with market introduction. Understand where the demand lies and respond to that."
Their approach may be unorthodox, they are not inhibited by classical chemical knowledge, but that makes room for innovation. “Sometimes people think: that is completely impossible. And then it turns out that it is possible after all. Because we do not think within the classical frameworks.” With passion, perseverance and a keen eye for social impact, Hans and Cees show that sustainable innovation does not stop with a good idea. It only really starts with people who believe in it, who fall, get up, and keep building. Towards a future where chemistry is green, and idealism pays off.
Main photo: Paul van Bueren photography
