“Those who do not commit to sustainability will lose out on competitiveness”

"Sustainability is the only way forward," knows Luc Van Ginneken, catalyst at Catalisti. "European chemistry is under pressure, on the one hand from global competition and on the other from the strict regulations imposed by Europe. The time for dawdling is over. Those who wait any longer will see their competitiveness decline. If we want to keep the chemical sector here, we must quickly become leaders in environmentally friendly processes, so that people in other countries no longer have an excuse to maintain a polluting way of working."

All the conditions are present here in Flanders to become world leaders in sustainable chemistry: proximity of knowledge institutions, professors who excel in their research fields, and the will to work on ideas together. - Luc Van Ginneken, catalyst at Catalisti

With the achievements Catalisti already has on its record and the focus that has always been on the transition to a sustainable economy, the Flemish government's choice of a director for the Moonshot programme was quickly made. Over the next 20 years, 20 million euros a year will be allocated to fundamental research into ways to avoid CO2 emissions in three crucial sectors, which together account for 90% of CO2 emissions: chemicals, petrochemicals and steel. "In 2012, we were convinced that available fossil fuel reserves would come to an end. The cost price went up fast. It was about securing raw materials for chemicals and plastics," Jan Van Havenbergh says. "Today, it is more about avoiding CO2 emissions and meeting climate goals to secure the world. The way to achieve both goals runs more or less along the same path.

Because of the synergy between ecological and economic impact, there is no party colour attached to the Moonshot project. We hope the future government realises what depends on it and turns on the tap more rather than closing it. - Jan Van Havenbergh, managing director at Catalisti

Source: NPT Magazine